I Love My Life With Derek
by Crystal Manning
Summary: A girl runs away from her home and finds her way back to Canada and back into the Venturis' lives. Derek is glad to have his best friend back. What happens when she opens up his eyes to the world that she's been hiding? DASEY and NoelxOC. Complete.
1. Runaway

**I Love My Life With Derek**

**Summary-A girl runs away from her home and finds her way back to Canada and back into the Venturis' lives. Derek is glad to have his best friend back, but what happens when she opens up his eyes to the world that she's been hiding?**

**------------**

**Chapter One-Stray**

I snuck out of the house plenty of times but I tripped on the curb on my way away this time. I got up and took off running again when I saw the lights come on. I bolted down the street and turned into an alley. I leaned against the wall as I watched the headlights of the car drive by.

I settled down and pulled my backpack off of my back. I placed it on the ground, curled over, and rested my head on it. My muscles ached and throbbed as I let out the breath that I've been holding and felt myself fall into a light sleep.

I woke up unexpectedly the next morning by the blaring of the bus horn. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed my backpack, and charged onto the bus, not caring where it would take me. I sat on the last seat and looked out the window as I slipped my i-pod earbuds into my ears. I turned up _Pain_ by Three Days Grace; the lyrics released my anger and feelings. I let out a sigh of relief but felt the feeling of anxiety gorw in me as I saw the reflection of a woman moving up the aisle. She looked in about her thirties, short red hair, a little bit of make up, and nice clothes. It was then that I realized she was staring back at me, I must've looked homeless to her.

My jet black hair was uncombed; my crystal blue eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep. My black pants were wrinkled, dirty, and filled with holes, my blue layered t-shirt ripped in some places and my lips chapped because of the harsh wind. Yeah, I can see how that strikes someone as me being homeless.

I finally gave into the fatigue that was trying to take me over. I pulled my legs up on the seat next to me and lay down on the seat, my music still playing in my ears. I woke up to find a small quilt draped over me. I folded it up and put it on the seat next to me and looked down to see that my only source of entertainment was dead. Sighing, I searched in my backpack to see if I had more batteries, or a snack, but found nothing. Just my luck.

"Why do you look so depressed?"

I turned and saw that the woman was looking at me in curiosity.

"I'm not depressed, just tired," I responded as I yawned.

"Right, I'm Nora MacDonald," she said as she held out her hand.

I shook it and said, "Mackenzie Montgomery, Mack for short."

"What's a young girl like you doing in this part of town? Shouldn't you be at home?" She asked as she opened her purse and dug around in it. '_If I had enough money I would use it to find a place to stay,,'_ I thought as I looked down at my stomach that was rumbling. "Here," Nora said as she held out a pack of crackers to me.

"I don't need your pity," I said as I shook my head and pushed the crackers back.

"It's not pity," she responded as she smiled a little. "I just see that you don't have any food. Also that you have nothing else to do, but sit there and draw attention to yourself, by looking depressed."

"Thank you, then," I muttered as I took the crackers from her and hurriedly opened it and stuffed the crackers in my mouth. What can I say? It beats the hell out of the other things that I eat. I turned and gave Nora a look when I heard her start laughing. "Wha?" I asked with my mouth full.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you remind me of my son Derek," she responded as she stopped laughing, but her smile stayed. I forced a little smile but it faded once I hit my head on the seat in front of me as the bus screeched to a stop. I looked out the window and decided to get off there. I gathered my things, thanked Nora, and jumped off of the bus. I looked around and was about to decide where to go when Nora asked, "So where are you going?"

"Why do you care?" I asked as I looked at her. _'Damn, I didn't want to be defensive, now she knows I have no where to go. Smooth move, Mack.'_

"Because you look lost," she responded. "And…judging by that, the state of your clothes, how red your eyes are, and the blank look on your face, you look as if you have nowhere to go." I just stared back at her, somewhat amazed how she could tell that I had no place to stay. I mean, for all she knows, I could have been going to a relative's house. No, she knew. No one would send their kid looking like this to a relative's house. "Come back to my place. You look as if you haven't slept for weeks."

"I couldn't do that. I would just be in the way," I said as I shook my head. _'She can't be serious.'_

"Nonsense. You wouldn't be in the way," she said as she shook her head and smiled. "Besides, I can't let you stay out here at night. Canada gets pretty cold at this time of year."

"Well…if you're sure," I said slowly.

"I'm sure," she responded as she lead me down the street and into her car. I hesitated before getting in. I mean, she was the only one that I have seen in a while who was willing to be hospitable towards me, so I should be able to trust her. She talked to someone on her cell phone the whole car ride to her place and my name came up a few times. We finally made it to a brown, orderly looking house. I stared at it a couple of seconds before following her inside.

Right as I walked in screams reached my ears along with crashes. Nora sighed and said, "I'll show you where the bathroom is first and I'll get you some clothes to borrow, ok?"

I just nodded as I followed her up the stairs. She showed me the bathroom and how to work the bath. Once it filled up, and I made sure to lock the door, I stared at the water as steam curled up into the air and disappeared. I slowly undressed and then slid in, sighing as the water immediately warmed me up. I took my time just relaxing there before I started washing myself. Once I finished I drained the tub and dried myself and looked at the clothes that Nora had let me borrow: brown capris and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt. I changed and put my other clothes in my backpack before leaving the bathroom and stepping out into the hallway. I stopped at the top of the stairs when I heard voices coming from down stairs.

"So what's this meeting about? There's a hockey game on TV I can't miss," a boy's impatient voice reached my ears.

"Kids, while I was out today I met this girl…who didn't have a place to stay. So, I offered here a place here." All at once screams filled the air as Nora tried to get them quiet. I laughed a little at the smallest girl's voice screaming over everyone else's. "It's only for a little bit, while I try to help her find a place to stay. In the meantime, I want you to meet her." I heard footsteps come towards the stairs and Nora call up, "You can come down now." I took that as my cue and sighed as I grabbed my backpack and descended down the stairs. Once I made it to the bottom I felt all eyes on me and I shifted nervously under their gaze. "Everyone, this is Mackenzie. Mackenzie, this is my husband George, and our kids Casey, Lizzie, Edwin, Marti, and Derek."

I looked them over as they all said different versions of hello. Casey seemed like a prep, Lizzie was a definite tomboy, Edwin seemed smooth, Marti seemed like a little sweetheart, and Derek…surprisingly I couldn't describe him, but he seemed so familiar…

"So…who's she going to be staying with? There isn't enough room in here for one more person to have their own room," Edwin pointed out.

"Which is why she'll be staying with Casey for a couple of days," Nora responded as she looked over at me, as if asking my opinion. I just shrugged as Casey jumped to her feet and smiled.

"This will be so cool! You're going to like it here," Casey said as she took my arm and started to lead me up the stairs. "So, how old are you?"

"Fifteen. I turn sixteen next month," I responded as I looked around the room and made a face at how…feminine it was.

"So you're a sophomore?" Casey questioned.

"Actually I'm a junior. I was born later in the year but enrolled in school earlier."

"So you're a junior just like me and…Derek."

"I take it that you don't like your brother?" I questioned.

"_Step_-brother," she corrected. "You see, my mom married George Venturi and forced my sister Lizzie and I to move in here with Derek, Edwin, and Marti."

'_Wait a second!'_ "Did you say 'Venturi'?" I asked as I looked over at her.

"Yeah, why?" Casey asked in confusion.

"Bout time you remembered the Venturis," Derek commented from the doorway as I turned around and rushed over to him and gave him a hug.

"What's going on here?" Casey asked in confusion. "Derek, you're hugging her? And how do you know her?"


	2. First Day

**Chapter Two-First Day**

"Paul!" Casey barked once she entered the office of the guidance counselor. He quickly brought his feet down from his desk and folded his hands on top of it.

"Hello Casey, I haven't seen you in a while," Paul said as he watched her sit down. "What did Derek do to you this time? Unplug your alarm clock and tell you that you have school on a Saturday again? Take all of your clothes and make you wear his?"

"No, this doesn't have to do with Derek at all," Casey responded with a wave of her hand. Paul gave her a look and she added, "Ok, so it does kind of have to do with Derek."

"Do tell," Paul said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, while my mom was out she ran into this kid name Mackenzie Montgomery. Turns out she ran away from home and she has no where to live so now she is staying at our house," Casey explained. "It's really cool because there's another girl in our house that's my age so I now have someone to talk to."

"And how does this have to do with Derek?" Paul asked in confusion.

"Well, turns out Mackenzie knew the Venturis from before, but she won't say how. Come to think of it, she never talks about past."

"How is it bad that Mackenzie knew the Venturis before?"

"She and Derek used to be friends which means that he has a partner in crime!" A mischievous look came over Casey's face as she said, "But not if I can befriend her first. I have to go! It was nice talking to you, Paul!" Casey gathered her things and quickly left the room. She scanned the hallway as she quickly walked to her locker. She didn't notice the WET FLOOR sign and went falling to the ground as she stepped into the puddle.

"By any chance is this the way you always start the day?" I asked as I rushed to Casey's side and helped her to her feet.

"Of course, haven't you heard her name?" Derek asked with a laugh as he walked up. "It's Klutzilla."

I covered my mouth so Casey wouldn't hear me stifle my laughter. She just turned to Derek and glared at him as he laughed hysterically. She regained her composure and asked me, "Do you need help finding out where your classes are?"

"I do, actually," I responded with a nod.

"Smack, let _me_ show you around," Derek offered. "I can show you how to sneak doughnuts out of the teacher's lounge."

"Thanks but no thanks, Smerek. I'd rather go through a day without getting into trouble," I responded as I rolled my eyes. "Unlike you, who loves to go looking for trouble. Tell you what, if someone bothers me and they deserve to get something coming to them, you'll be the one I look for."

"Sweet!" He said as he held out his fist and I bumped it with my own. "Catch ya later, Smack. See ya next fall, Klutzilla." He walked away laughing and I grinned as I shook my head.

"Don't encourage him!" Casey cried out as she lightly smacked me on the arm.

"Sorry," I muttered as I rolled my eyes. "You know, Derek isn't that bad once you get to know him."

"Derek? Are we talking about the same Derek Venturi?" Casey questioned as we walked down the hallway. "The same Derek Venturi that turns off my alarm clock? Te same Derek that steals my clothes? The same Derek that–"

"I get it!" I interrupted her as I held up my hands. "So, before my ear falls off by you talking about how much you hate Derek, can you shoe me where my classes are?"

Words of advice: never get Casey started on a subject she can go on and on and on about. For most of the day I had to listen to her complain about what Derek did to her ever since she moved into the Venturi home. Sure, I tuned her out for a good part of the time but it's kind of hard when she won't let you get your own opinion in.

"So, what class do you have now?" Casey asked me once we reached our lockers. I opened my mouth to answer but she took my schedule from my hands and looked at it. "Ooh! You're in drama too! Let's go so we're not late!"

"We wouldn't want that," I muttered under my breath as I followed her. We entered the drama room and I burst out laughing at what I saw, but Casey was just furious.

"DER-EK!" Casey shouted as she stormed over to him.

"Ahh, just who I wasn't in the mood to see," he commented as he turned around and started to talk to, excuse me, _argue_ with Casey about something. I just stood by listening to them argue as I scanned the room. Casey came back to my side a couple of minutes later muttering, "Selfish, ignorant, pompous, waste of skin!"

"Class! Class settle down and take your seats!" The teacher said as she walked into the room. "And Derek, that means get your own seat, no sharing!" She added once she walked to the front of the room. He got a guilty look on his face as he sunk down in his chair. _'Same old Derek.'_ "Ahh, it looks like we have a new thespian in the class," she said as she looked at me, which caused everyone in the class to turn and look at me. I had to deal with this all day: the stares, the whispers, the cat calls from guys, and the jabs from girls. I forgot how harsh school was and, right now, I wish I was back on the streets. "Why don't you stand up and say something about yourself?"

I growled under my breath as I stood. I thought for a second before saying, "I really don't want to be here," before sitting back down and crossing my arms over my chest.

"You don't like acting?" Casey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What was your first clue?" I asked sarcastically as I propped my feet up on the seat in front of me. I sighed heavily when she announced that we would have partners for drama exercises. But I felt a little better when the teacher paired Derek and Casey as partners. Although I've only known them and their family for a day I found out, if you're feeling bad, just watch the Venturi and McDonald kids go at it, guaranteed to make you smile, if not bust a gut laughing.

"Hmmm…Mackenzie, you will be paired with Noel," the teacher said.

"Hmmm, that's an interesting pair," Casey said as a smile came to her face.

"What's with that smile? You're starting to scare me," I said as I gave her a suspicious look, which only made her smile get bigger.

"No reason," she responded as a boy approached. "Noel, this is Mackenzie. Mackenzie, this is Noel. He was the lead in our last school play."

"Whoopee," I responded dryly as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"It's an honor to meet you too," he said in the same tone as I crossed my arms. "I think I have you figured out: you like to write, but you prefer stories, um…you're not that social, you like to listen to music, you play the guitar, and you don't care what people think of you."

"So you think you got me figured out huh?" I asked as I clicked my tongue.

"Yup," he responded with a nod. "Girls like you aren't that hard to figure out?"

"Girls like me?" I repeated as I clenched my hands into fists as annoyance bubbled up inside. "What's wrong with girls like me?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just that, since girls like you don't care about what people think of them they're not afraid to speak their opinions, which ends up making them loud, and arrogant, and–"

"Extremely pissed off!" I growled as I brought back my first.

"Whoa girl!" Derek cried as he grasped my fist. "I'll trade partners with you. Wouldn't want you to get in trouble on your first day." He pulled me away before saying in a hushed voice, "He's not worth it. This class isn't even worth it."

"Then why are you here Derek?" I questioned as I lifted an eyebrow.

"Hello? Have you seen how many girls are in this class?" He asked as he raised a hand to motion. "One of these girls are going to want me to come over to their place and help 'rehearse'," he responded with a big smile.

"You _really_ haven't changed Derek Venturi," I said as I smacked him upside the head and shook mine.

"Thank you and I hope you haven't either because I'm going to need your help with something," he said as an evil smile came to his face.

"Lemme guess, you want to do something to Casey right?" I asked as I faked a face of thought.

"It was always creepy how you were able to read my mind," he responded as he backed up a little. "But yes, it has something to do with her. She's been a little bit uptight lately, I want to do something that will…make her relax."

"Oh no! No way! The last time I helped you with one of your schemes I was grounded for three weeks!"

"Yeah, but who's going to ground you?" Derek questioned as he crossed his arms and smirked.

"I hate it when you make sense," I said through clenched teeth.

"It's one of my good qualities. So are you in or not? We're just going to help her relax, how can we get into trouble by doing that?"

"All right all right, I'm in. But if I get into trouble, I'm bringing you down with me!" I responded as I jabbed my finger into his chest.

"Remind me never to get you mad at me, Smack. You're terrifying now, and I don't want to see you when you're mad."

I just smirked in response.


	3. A Talk with Casey

**Chapter Three-A Talk with Casey**

"DER-EK!"

I quickly clapped my hands over my ears when Casey screamed his name. My math textbook was propped up on my lap as I tried to do the homework. I was staring at one problem for about a half hour as Casey breezed through her homework…until she found a reason to blame Derek for something.

"CA-SEY!" He mimicked as he appeared in the doorway.

"What did you do to my textbooks?" She demanded as she jabbed him in the chest with her finger.

"Textbooks?" Derek questioned as he scratched his head. I could tell by the look on his face that he honestly didn't know what textbooks were. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb!" She snapped. "In this case, you're probably not playing."

"Ouch, that actually hurt Space Case," Derek said in fake hurt as he slapped his hand over his heart.

"Derek! I can't do my homework now! My backpack is filled with poetry books!" Casey shouted at him.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you _liked_ poetry? I thought it helped you _relax_."

'_Ooh, touché!_' I thought as I hid my smile behind my math book as I tried to, once again, figure out the answer. Although, it was getting harder and harder to concentrate because they were getting ready to start another battle.

"Poetry isn't going to help me relax knowing that I'm going to fall behind on my homework!" Casey growled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, you better start catching up on your poetry," Derek said with a wave and a smirk before leaving the room.

"I don't get why you're so mad," I said as I looked at her in confusion. "I thought you liked reading poetry."

"I do, it's the fact that _Derek_ knew I liked to read poetry…or that he actually paid attention to the fact that I liked poetry."

"I don't get why you guys hate each other. You should be happy to have each other."

"Oh yeah, I'm just bursting with joy living with a new step-dad, two step-brothers, and a new step-sister who don't understand that they can't go around acting like animals anymore!"

"You just don't get it," I said as I closed my book with a snap and shook my head. I left the room before she could say anything. I bounded down the stairs and sat down in the recliner, causing Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti's attention to immediately turn towards me.

"That's Derek's chair!" Edwin commented as he looked at me with wide eyes.

"So?" I questioned as I settled down. Why does he care so much about a stupid chair? This family was really possessive of their things and it was starting to creep me out.

"So, I would like it back," Derek said as he bounded down the stairs before stopping in front me me.

"I don't see your name on it," I said as I looked around before I looked back up at him. "Now, be a good little boy and get out of the way."

"Derek? Good? Boy?" Lizze questioned with a laugh. "That's a good one!"

"Yeah. Derek and good can't go together in one sentence unless the word 'isn't' is in the middle!" Edwin agreed. Derek shot him a look and he quickly shut up as Marti giggled.

"I don't care if I've known you for a while, I'm not afraid to use force to make you get out of my chair!" He said as he glared down at me.

"I'm waiting," I said as I folded my hands in my lap and smirked up at him. He just rose his eyebrow as he glared down at me. I recognized that look, that was the look of him accepting a challenge. Well, I wasn't one to back down from one. _'Bring it on, Venturi.'_

"You just watch your back, Montgomery," he said as a slow smirk came to his face. "Just remember, I _always_ get what I want."

"Is that a threat?" I questioned as a slow, devious smile came to my face.

"Nothing gets by you," he said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "Do you accept?"

"I've never backed down from your challenges before, I won't do it now," I responded as I stood to face him.

"Good. Give it all you've got!" Derek said before turning and barking, "Edwin!"

"Coming Derek!" He said as he followed Derek up the stairs and they disappeared from sight as I laughed evilly.

"Wow, I've never see anyone dare to talk to Derek like that," Lizzie said in amazement.

"She was cool! Like a superhero!" Marti cheered as she jumped onto my lap. I laughed a little and felt another pang of jealousy but pushed it away. I was getting better and better at hiding my emotions from the Venturi-McDonald family as the hours passed by. I was also starting to get used to the craziness of the Venturi-McDonald household along with the competitions. How do you think they got started? By Derek and yours truly.

"What's going on down here? Derek and Edwin are locked in Derek's room like mom is trying to force them to eat broccoli," Casey commented as she walked down the stiars.

"Basically Mack and Derek are going to try and outdo each other," Lizze responded. "Can I help?"

"What're you going to do to Smerek?" Marti questioned.

"Nothing, Marti," I reassured her. "At least, nothing that will hurt his pride _too_ much."

"I don't like this! I'm going to be on Smerek's side!" She announced as she slid off of my lap and ran up the stairs, yelling Derek's name at the top of her lungs.

"What do you have in mind?" Casey asked, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Oh…just somethings from his past that he would probably have wanted forgotten."

"Liz, it's your turn to set the table," Nora said as she walked into the living room. "Is everything to your liking, Mackenzie? Do you need anything?"

"I'm good, Nora," I responded as I smiled a little.

"Well, you don't have many clothes. How about we go shopping?"

"Thanks, but I'm not the shopping type of person," I said as I forced myself not to scream out loud. I hated shopping more than anything. Not because I had to steal to get what I wanted, but it was the fact that the saleswomen don't understand the word 'no'.

"Ooh! I love shopping!" Casey said excitedly as she clasped her hands together. "I know the perfect place! Let's go!" She said as she grabbed my arm.

"Casey! Wait, I don't want to!" I protested as she literally dragged me out the front door. She was seriously stronger than she looked! I sat, glumly, the whole ride there and she, once again, had to drag me inside the mall and to a clothing store. She shoved pile after pile of clothes into my arms so I could try them on as she continued looking for more.

"If you don't mind my asking, how _do_ you know the Venturis? Did you used to live here?" Casey asked once I stepped out of the dressing room once more. I sighed as I clicked my tongue. They've been asking me this question ever since I arrived and I knew that I couldn't put it off much longer.

"Derek was my first friend," I responded slowly as I watched their faces for their reaction. "Even though it's hard to believe, he was nicer then than he is now. He really has changed since then…"

_**-FLASHBACK-**_

I sighed as I kicked my feet back and forth. My feet were able to reach the ground from the bench that I was sitting on so I entertained myself by swinging them back and forth. I looked around and sighed once more as I saw the other kids my age running around the park, playing on swings and playing on the monkey bars.

I guess I gave off some weird aura because no one would come near me and women who would walk by with their kids would pick up their pace whenever they came close to me. I forced the wave of sadness that was starting to wash over me away as I clenched my hands into fists.

"Hey kid!"

I looked up and saw three boys standing in front of me. Just by looking at their smirks I knew that it would be stupid if I stayed there, so I ran. I could hear them chasing after me as my heart pounded in fear. I cried out in pain when I felt something hit the back of knee, which caused me to fall onto my side. I covered my face with my arms as I felt kicks reign down on my body.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" I slowly lowered my arms and opened my eyes to see the kids running off. I sat up and started to wipe the blood that was on my arms as I clenched my teeth to keep from starting to cry. "Hey, are you ok?" I looked up and nodded as a brown haired boy smiled at me and offered his hand, which I took and he pulled me to my feet. "That doesn't look too bad. You'll be fine."

"Thank you," I muttered as I wiped the rest of the blood off of my arms.

"You're welcome," he responded with a big smile. "Anytime. If they ever bother you again, just come and find me."

_**-END FLASHBACK-**_

"Derek Venturi did that?" Casey asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Casey, believe it or not, Derek has a good side," I responded as I rolled my eyes. "You're lucky to have a brother like him. If I had a brother like him, I wouldn't trade him for anything." I left Casey standing there as I went back into the dressing room to try on more clothes.


	4. Pranks Bring Out the Worst in People

**Chapter Four-Pranks Bring Out the Worst in People**

**-NORMAL POV-**

"Edwin!" Derek yelled once he woke up the next morning. He waited for his brother to come into the room before continuing. "My backpack! Downstairs! Now!"

"Why don't you just get it yourself?" Edwin demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Because I have hockey practice. What would you rather me hit my with stick: the puck or your heard?"

Edwin grumbled as he grabbed Derek's backpack and left the room. Derek just smiled as he gathered his things to take a shower. He groaned once he saw that Mack was waiting outside the door and he heard the water running. He concluded that Casey was in the shower and he knew how long she could take.

"Casey!" He yelled as he banged on the bathroom door with his fist. "No matter how long you shower it won't take the stink away!" He heard Mack laughing softly next to him and he tried to keep the smile off of his face.

"I'm applying my make up, Derek!" Casey shouted back. "I don't know about you, but some people care about how they look!"

"Ooh! She got ya there," Mack said as she shook her head.

"It shouldn't take long to apply seeing as the mirror you're looking in cracked once it saw your reflection!" He shouted back as he continued pounding on the door. He waited in front of the door with arms crossed as he tapped his foot impatiently. Once Casey opened the door he flicked Mack in the forehead before charging inside and locking it.

"HEY!" Mack shouted as she pounded on the door. "I was here first! DEREK!"

"Sorry! Can't hear you!" He shouted as he turned on the shower. He chucked evily as he pulled a bottle out from under the sink and then grabbed Casey's shampoo. He squeezed all of the shampoo out and squeezed the other substance inside, laughing the whole time. "This is what you get for challenging me, Montgomery." He quickly jumped into the shower, making sure to use his own shampoo, before drying and changing into his clothes. "It's all yours," he told Mack as he left the bathroom and bounded down the stairs.

"Edwin! Give that back!" Lizzie shouted as he held the bagel out of his reach.

"You snooze, you lose Lizzie," he taunted as he got ready to eat the bagel. "Hey!" He cried out as Derek took the bagel from him and bit into it.

"Sorry Ed, but I'm going to need this," Derek said as he quickly ate the bagel as he rushed around the kitchen.

"What're you in a rush for?" Casey questioned with a smirk. "Trying to get to detention early?"

"Hahahaha," Derek laughed sarcastically as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk. He drank some of it and let out a sigh before putting it back into the fridge. "That's very funny, Klutzilla. But I just have to…go…NOW!" He responded as he ran over to the living room, grabbed his backpack, and ran out the front door. They heard his car start up before the noise faded into the morning.

"What was that about?" Marti asked as she looked around at everyone.

"DER-EK!" Mack's shout came from upstairs, causing them all to look over at the stairs.

"I think we're about to find out," Lizzie responded as they heard footsteps pounding down the stairs. Their eyes widened when they saw Mack come into the kitchen, her face twisted in anger. Her clothes were fine but what caught their attention was her hair. It was super shiny and it was sticking out everywhere.

"You look like a troll doll!" Marti said as she giggled into her palm.

"Thank you," Mack responded sarcastically. "Now tell me where your older brother is."

"He all ready left for school," Edwin responded as he laughed. "I see he got you. He usually doesn't plan a prank this early! But it's a good one! I have to use that!"

"He's is going to _pay_!" Mack shouted as she rushed over to the sink, turned on the water, and stuck her head underneath it to get the syrup out of her hair.

"Umm…Mackenzie, why're you washing your hair in the sink?" George asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"I'm guessing Derek put syrup in Casey's shampoo bottle knowing that Mack would borrow it," Lizzie responded as Mack squeezed out her hair and reached for the paper towels that were by the sink to dry her hair.

"You guessed right!" Mack said as she stood and faced Lizzie. "But I all ready know what I can do to pay him back!" She announced as a smile formed on her face. "And he won't see it coming!"

"I can honestly say I'm glad you decided to come stay here!" Casey said with a big smile as she grabbed her coat and the two girls left the kitchen. _'She has a point. How much longer am I going to be able to stay here? How much longer will it take before they kick me out like all of the others?' _Mack thought as she and Casey got into one of the other cars. "Hey, you all right?" Casey asked as she looked over at Mack.

"Yeah, just _peachy_!" Mack responded through clenched teeth. "Tell me…does Derek have a girlfriend?"

"Derek? Girlfriend!?" Casey repeated with a laugh. "Derek goes through girls like tissues! Once he got away with dating _three_ different girls at one time!"

Mack tried to laugh at that, but found that she couldn't. She knew Derek would never change from his skirt0chasing persona and it never bothered her before. But it bothered her now for some reason. She shook her head and pushed out thoughts that were flying into her brain as she stared out the window and Casey continued on with her rant. Once they got to the school Mack charged inside on the war path. People knew to move out of her way and Casey hurried behind her, not wanting to miss when Mack confronted Derek.

"DEREK!" Mack shouted once she spotted him by the stairs.

"Gotta go!" He said to the girl he was talking to before he turned and ran up the stairs. Mack threw her backpack at Casey before sprinting after him.

"Was that the new girl chasing after my Derr-Bear?" Kendra questioned as she walked up to Casey who was trying to open her locker.

"Yep," Casey responded. She paused and added, "But not in that way! Derek and Mackenzie are old friends. Derek just played a trick on her so now she's trying to get even. And let me tell you, he deserves whatever is coming to him." She looked at Kendra before saying in confusion, "I thought you and Derek broke up."

"We did," Kendra responded in an impatient voice.

"Then why'd you use a possessive word in your last sentence? He isn't exactly _yours_ anymore," Casey pointed out. "Are you…jealous of their…twisted friendship?"

"Me? Jealous? No, hun, I'm just confused. He won't date any girls and start a serious relationship with them but he fine with just being friends, no strings attached," she responded as she crossed her arms. "I think there's something going on between them."

"Derek and Mackenzie?" Casey repeated as she raised an eyebrow.

"You don't see it?" Kendra questioned. "They've known each other for a long time and they haven't seen each other for a long time. Trust me, I know boys. When they're friends with girls for a while and the girl is gone for a while and the girl comes back, they can't help but feel something for them. It's common nature."

"That doesn't make sense," Casey said as she shook her head.

"Just watch them closely Casey," was all Kendra replied before she walked down the hallway.

--------------

"So? Did you get him back?" Casey asked as she sat down at Mack's table. Mack reached out and caught Casey's tray before it slid off the other side by the force of her setting it down. Mack made a face at her cafeteria food before she replied.

"Yeah, I got him back," she said as she pushed her tray away from herself.

"Oooh? How? I want every single detail!" She said excitedly as she put her purse on the ground. Before Mack could say anything Casey made a squealing sound and stood as she hugged someone who stopped by their table. "Hi Max! Max, this is Mackenzie, the girl I was telling you about. Mackenzie, this is my boyfriend Max."

"Hey, what's up?" Mack asked as she shook his hand.

"Nothing much," Max responded with a shrug. "So how is it staying at the Venturi-McDonald house?" He asked as he sat down next to Casey.

"I can't complain," Mack responded with a shrug. "It's a hell of a lot better than the other places I've been staying."

"They're a great family, and I'm not just saying that because Casey's my girlfriend," Max told her. "They really come together when they need each other. You couldn't have picked a better family to stay with."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Casey said as she waved her hand. "So how did you get Derek back?"

"What does Derek hate more than anything?" Mack asked her.

"A crying girl?"

"Take that, add in a little bit of anger, sprinkle a small cheating fact, and you get a pranked Derek," she said as she pointed at the double doors of the cafeteria. They turned around and started laughing. Derek was walking in the room stiffly. His right cheek was all red and he was walking with a slight limp. Some chocolate liquid substance was dripping off of his head and his face seemed to be smeared with what looked like whipped cream.

"You…you…you," he said as he pointed his finger in Mack's direction once he reached their table.

"Would you like to finish your sentence so we can actually understand what you're trying to accuse?" Mack asked calmly as she poked at the food that was on her tray before looking up at him. "Oh, you got a little something in your hair." Derek just turned and stormed out of the cafeteria as a triumphant smirk came across Mack's face. "And _that's_ how you deal with Derek Venturi."

"I could learn a lot from you," Casey said as she laughed. "His expression was the _best!_"

"Listen Case, I have to head over to my class so I can ask the teacher a couple of questions. I'll see you later," Max said as he hugged Casey before standing to leave.

"All right, I'll call you later," Casey agreed with a wave. "You aren't afraid?" She asked once Max left.

"Afraid of what?" Mack questioned.

"Derek getting you back."

"No, I'm looking forward to it actually. I mean, I all ready got him back bad. What can he do to me? It takes a lot to make me crack."

----------

"I HATE YOU DEREK VENTURI!" Mack shouted as she stormed into the Venturi-McDonald house hold and slammed the door in his face before he could enter the house.

"Yeah? WELL THE FEELIN'S MUTUAL!" He shouted back as he tossed his leather coat onto the coat rack. Mack flipped him off before storming up the stiars. Casey winced slightly when she heard her bedroom door slam shut.

"What did you do?" Casey demanded as she shoved Derek into the wall.

"I got her back!" Derek responded as his eyes flashed in anger. "It's not my fault she can't take a little prank!"

"Smerek, you made Smack cry," Marti said as she came down the stairs and leaned against the rail.

"What? No I didn't," he said as he shook his head. "She doesn't cry _that_ easily."

"Girls have feelings too you know," Lizzie pointed out as she came into the living room from the kitchen. "I heard shouting, what did Derek do this time?"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" He protested as he started up the stairs. "It's not my fault she can't take a little joke!" He shouted the rest as he slammed the door to his room. He crossed over to his stereo and blasted music as he dropped onto his bed and closed his eyes. After a while he just stared at the ceiling before he rolled onto his side. His eye caught a picture that he had hidden among the others that was on his dresser. It was of him and Mack before she disappeared years ago. He reached out for it and stared at it before he let out a heavy sigh and replaced it on his dresser.

--------

"Stupid…Venturi…" Mack growled under her breath as she ripped through her backpack, searching for something. She pulled out the picture that was in her backpack, the only identical copy of the one Derek kept. She rushed over to Casey's desk and picked up her pair of scissor and started cutting it before she had second thoughts…


	5. Scars

**Chapter Five-Scars**

"So kids…what happened at school today?" Nora asked as she looked around the dinner table. The unusual thing about it was the fact that the table was quiet for the first time. The only sound was the clinking of forks against plates and glasses being set down on the table.

"What did you learn?" George tried his luck with the kids.

"I learned that Derek's a bastard!" Mack snapped.

"You _just_ learned this?" Casey questioned as she rose her eyebrows.

"Well _I_ learned that Montgomery can't take a joke!" Derek shot back as he rolled his eyes.

"You call what you did to me a joke?" She hissed as she threw her fork down.

"Yes, I do. And it was a _great_ joke too! It's not my fault that _you_ can't take a joke once it's served!"

There was a loud smacking sound as everyone's mouths fell open. Derek's head snapped to the side from the force of the slap that connected with his cheek. He slowly turned his head back and glared at her as he rubbed his cheek.

"Mackenzie, you are way out of line!" George said as he put his napkin down on his plate. "Go to your room!"

"You can't send me to my room! I'm not your kid!" Mack snapped as she turned her gaze to him.

"You're living under this house so you should follow my rules!"

"Well, maybe I don't want to live here anymore!"

All at once the kids at the table started shouting at her. She just shook her head and ran up the stairs to her room. Derek just sat down and calmly continued eating as if nothing had happened.

"Um…I'll go talk to her," Casey said as she got up from the table. "I can't believe you Derek," she hissed into his ear before she ran up the stairs. He waved her away as he kept eating; ignoring the nervous glances he was receiving from the rest of the family.

"Kids, can you go up to your rooms. We want to talk to Derek alone," Nora said as she folded her hands and rested her chin on them. Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti all left the table without arguments. Derek put down his fork and pushed his plate away, getting ready to get yelled at by his parents. "Derek, we heard about what you did."

"You did?" Derek asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Who told you?"

"Emily's mom," George and Nora responded in unison. Derek rolled his eyes as he settled back in his chair. Her mom always talked about other peoples affairs and eventually it spreads around to everyone.

"Derek, don't you ever feel bad about what you do to people?" George asked as he let out a sigh.

"Ummm…no?" Derek's reply came out more of a question than an answer. "Will you guys relax? It was a joke? A harmless prank!"

"Getting everyone to call Mackenzie a whore for unknown reasons isn't a harmless prank!" Nora told him.

"God, you don't even know the whole deal!" Derek said as he slapped his palms on the table.

"And we don't want to know the whole deal! All we know is that what you did was wrong on a whole new scale! Just…go to your room! You're grounded for three weeks. No phone, no video games, no TV!" George shot back.

"This is so unfair! You don't even know what she did to me!"

"I don't care what she did to you! What's worse was you did something back and made the whole situation worse and hurt your friend!"

Derek angrily got away from the table and stormed up the stairs to his room. He glared over at Casey's closed door before flopping onto his bed and opening a magazine. He couldn't concentrate though so he threw it across the room.

'_I thought it would be like the old times when Mack came to live here. But all she's done is turned my life into a living hell! She was never this temperamental…well, she's never been without a home either. But something had to make her run away and something had to make her change. And I'm going to find out what, no matter how long it takes. Hmmm, I'm hungry. I wonder if we have any pizza. Mmmmm, pizza!'_

He quietly left his room and snuck down the stairs, making sure Nora and George weren't there so he wouldn't be yelled at again. He grabbed a slice of pizza that was in there and quickly ate it before going up the stairs and making his way to the bathroom. He was about to grasp the doorknob and enter when a soft noise stopped him. He slowly let go of the knob and leaned forward so he could peer through the crack and into the bathroom.

'_What is she doing?_' He thought as he tried to see through the tiny crack. He could only see Mack rubbing a towel on her arm before opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out Band-Aids. Derek grasped the doorknob once more and shoved the door open, which made Mack jump. He rose an eyebrow at the guilty look that flashed across Mack's place before it was replaced with annoyance.

"Don't you ever knock?" She demanded as she closed the cabinet.

"Why so guilty?" Derek asked in return as he closed the door and walked over to the toilet. Mack just stormed out of the bathroom without another word. Derek moved over to the sink but saw nothing wrong with it. He then picked up the towel and looked it over, eyebrows rising in surprise when he saw the blood stained on it.

'_What's going on?'_

----------------

"Are you all right? You don't look as if you've gotten any sleep," Casey commented the next morning as she put her books in her backpack.

"Gee, what would give you that idea?" Mack asked in a hoarse voice as she rubbed her eyes. Her hair was sticking out everywhere and she had bags underneath her eyes.

"Whoa," Lizze said once she walked into the room. "Do you want some tea or something?"

"That would be great Liz," Mack said as she stood and stretched.

"Do you…want to play soccer with me after school?"

"That sounds like fun. I haven't played in a while."

"Cool, I'll see you downstairs." She paused by the door and turned to add, "I'm always here if you want to talk. Casey too."

"I know Liz, and thanks."

Mack lifted her hand and lightly traced a finger on the scar that was on her neck. She shook her head and went about her work to get ready for school. The breakfast scene was as chaotic as usual. Derek decided to ride his bike to school that day so he let the girls take the car.

"Can I ask you something?" Casey asked suddenly.

"It's always questions coming from you McDonalds. No offense. So what's up?" Mack responded as she looked over at Casey.

"Were you…always homeless?"

"I wasn't _always_ homeless. I went from home to home of people I used to know. Sometimes I would be able to stay for a couple of days, sometimes a week. I've never stayed at one place as long as I've stayed with you McDonalds…Venturis…you."

"If Mom and George ever thought of adopting you…would you accept?"

Mack pondered over the question as Casey looked for a reaction from her out of the corner of her eye. "I've been asked that a couple of times before by different people. Don't take this personally, but I don't like it when people ask me that."

"Why not? I mean, wouldn't you want a permanent place to stay?"

"Of course, but because I chose to want to be with those people, not because I was…in a way, pressured into it. DO you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"Cool," Mack said with a nod as she looked out the window. _'And anyway, I can't stay in one place for too long or he will know where I am and come looking for me again. And I may not be able to escape next time.'_


	6. A Talk with Marti

**Chapter Six-The Talk with Marti**

_**-Derek's POV-**_

"Hey Smarti," I greeted my little sister as I entered my house the next day. All I wanted was to have a stress-free evening and the only way that would happen was if I spent time with Marti. No matter what I did she was the only person that wouldn't hate me.

"Hi Smerek!" She greeted me with a smile as she ran towards me. I quickly put down my things and pulled her into my arms as she giggled. "Do you want to play dress-up with me?"

"Hmmm, I'd rather not," I responded as I put her down on the ground. She looked up at me with big eyes as she asked softly, "Why not?" I hated it when she did that, I always fell for it and she knew it. I glanced up as Dad and Nora walked into the living room. I took one look at their clothes as realization dawned on me. "No!" I stated as I shook my head.

"I'm sorry Derek but with Casey studying and the babysitting incident last time…" Dad said as he gave me a stern look. I knew that look way too well; it meant that he wanted to talk about it later.

"So I'm stuck babysitting the munchkins?" I asked with a groan as Edwin and Lizzie bounded down the stairs.

"Who're you calling a munchkin?" Edwin demanded as he stepped up to me. I just looked down at him and grinned evilly as he quickly backed away and stood behind the couch, making sure to keep some distance between us.

"Well, yes, you are in charge of looking after them…but you are going to have help," Nora responded hesitantly as the front door slammed shut.

"Oh no," I said as I crossed my arms and shook my head.

"You love to make my life a living hell don't you?" Mack demanded as she shoved me so I dropped down onto the couch. I just looked up at her in confusion as I jumped to my feet. Marti ran over to her and Mack turned her attention to the kid.

"It's part of my job description," I responded as I rolled my eyes before turning back to my parents. "Ordinarily I don't like to baby-sit but not that I have to baby-sit with _her_," I jerked my thumb in her direction; "I'd like my pay to increase."

"How much?" Dad asked as he glanced at the kids before looking over at me.

"Five bucks per hour," I responded as I held out my hand. "And I would like the first five up front." Dad looked at me for a couple of seconds before he burst out laughing. I slowly lowered my arm and glared at him as I muttered, "I'm not kidding."

"You must be if you think I'm going to pay you five dollars per hour," Dad said with a laugh. "I'm going to pay you both 2.50 an hour. I expect everything to be in perfect condition once we get back." He gave me one more look before they both left the house.

"I wanna play a game Smerek!" Marti said as she stomped her foot on the ground and looked angrily up at me. "If you don't play a game with me I'm going to cry!"

"Ok! Ok!" I said as I waved my hands to keep her from crying. I hated it when she cried, it made me feel bad, even if I didn't have anything to do with it. "Let's play…hide 'n' seek." _'Anything to get these kids out of my way.'_

"That sounds like fun," Lizzie said with a shrug and an approving smile. Edwin just shrugged and nodded his agreement. I covered my eyes and started counting as I heard Marti's giggles and everyone's footsteps leave the room. I counted all the way up to fifty before I sighed and dropped down into my chair, holding my face in my hands. _'I'm stuck at home because I'm grounded and I'm playing kiddy games with my family. What has my life turned into?'_

After sitting there for another couple of minutes I decided to go and find them. I went for Edwin first only because he was the easiest to find. I walked into the laundry room and looked over at the dryer door that was open slightly. I quietly climbed ontop of the dryer before reaching out and closing the door. I waited on top as the door of the dryer slowly opened and Edwin stuck his head out hesitantly and looked around. Once he climbed all of the way out I jumped and landed on top of him, which caused him to fall to the ground screaming in a high pitched voice.

"Man it's no wonder you don't have a girlfriend, Edweirdo!" I said as I rolled my eyes and got off of him.

"How did you know I was in here?" Edwin asked as he stood and rubbed his arm.

"I'm not dumb!" I commented as I gave him a look.

"Really? You could've fooled me."

I took a threatening step towards him and he scurried off. I shook my head at his easiness to scare as I left the room and tried to think of where Lizzie would be. I checked the games closet and her bedroom before I headed back downstairs. I stood in the living room and looked around the room closely before I started towards the window. I lifted the window seat and saw her curled into a ball.

"Took you long enough, I was starting to run out of air," she complained as she got out of the window seat.

"Hey, you helped me find my gym socks," I pointed out as I pulled them out of the window seat and tossed them onto the coffee table.

"Which explains the lightheadedness I had back at twenty minutes," she muttered under her breath as I laughed a little. Now it was time to find Marti. "Ready or not Marti! Here I come!" I called in what I hoped was my scariest voice. Sure, being stuck in this house when I could be out with my friends isn't something I would plan on doing, but I have to admit playing hide 'n' seek with my family was actually pretty fun. When you play with the Venturis you can hide in pretty impressive places. Once I was able to stuff myself in our refrigerator, after it was cleaned out.

I ran up the stairs and stopped on the landing as I looked around slowly to see if there was any movement. I could hear soft giggling but it took me a while to figure out where. Marti could be in three places: the bathroom, hiding under Casey's bed, or in her own room. I checked the bathroom first because that's where she likes to make her "portions". Once I saw she wasn't there I decided to give Casey a little scare and went to check her room.

"Casey! Have you seen Marti?" I asked in fake desperation as I dropped to the floor and looked under her bed. _'Not there, so she must be in her room. Oh well, might as well mess with the Space Case's head while I'm here.'_

"What do you mean where's Marti?" Casey asked as she whirled around in her swivel chair to glare at me. "You _lost_ Marti!? How irresponsible can you be, Derek? She's your little sister!"

"Relax!" I said as I rolled my eyes. "I know where Marti is. Believe it or not I care about her enough to make sure where she is at all times."

"Oh yeah?" Casey asked as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "And why is that Derek? Why do you care about Marti so much?"

"Because…she's just a kid and she needs someone to keep her out of trouble?" I responded, although my answer was more of a question than a statement. I had a lot more answers to that question. Like the fact that I love the kid to death, I hate seeing her sad, I want to be the one she always comes to when she has a problem, I want to be the one she calls once I leave for college just because she misses my voice. There were a lot more reasons than that, even some that I can't think of right now. "I wouldn't lose my sister just like that, give me some credit."

"Will you give me an actual answer?"

"Because…It's what I'm supposed to do. You're supposed to care about family, right?" I asked without looking at her. I didn't want her to know that I actually _liked_ having her and Lizzie here. Having the McDonald women in the house made things more…challenging, and that's the way I liked my life now. Sure, I can't stand her most of the time, but I wouldn't trade my new life for anything.

"Mackenzie is technically our family, well…for now, how come you don't care about her?" Where was this coming from? Of course I cared about Mack…I guess. I mean, she was like Casey, in a way, and you _had_ to play a trick on someone once in a while, right? Ok, I guess my trick was kind of mean…_really_ mean and I should've apologized….but I couldn't. I just couldn't apologize to her, it was like my brain didn't work. And that's happened to me on other occasions too. Before she hated me I would want to ask her to hang out at the ice rink to play against me in hockey but my brain would just die. "Derek?"

"That's…none of your business!" I snapped as I stood and started walking out of the room.

"I'm sure if you just apologized to her then you'd see that she is a great person after all…she may be a female version of you…to an extent, but she's willing to get your friendship back."

I hesitated at the door but shook my head and continued on to Marti's room, pushing her words out of my head. I walked into Marti's room and saw that she had her 'secret fort' set up once more. "Hmmm. I wonder where Smarti could be. Maybe…..HERE!" I shouted as I dove under the flap of the 'secret fort'. Marti giggled as I reached out and tickled her in the ribs.

"How'd you find me?" She asked in between laughs as I settled down on my side.

"I had a hunch," I responded as I smiled at her. "What were you doing the whole time I was trying to find you? You must've gotten bored."

"Oh, I was drawing Smack a picture," Marti responded as she picked one up and held it in front of my face to see. "She seemed sad lately and I wanted to cheer her up." She studied my face as she added, "You really hurt her. I don't know what you did, but it hurt her."

"How do you know, Smarti?" I asked as I looked over at her.

"Because she talked to me," Marti responded as she took the picture back. "And Lizzie and Casey."

"Oh…c'mon Smarti," I said as I held out my hand before we got out of the 'secret fort'.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she took my hand and we left the room.

"To finish this hide 'n' seek game. We're going to find Smack."

"Yaaaay!"

I enlisted the help of Lizzie and Edwin to find her. I don't know why I want to find her so badly I mean, it was just a game. But something was nagging me in the corner of my mind. She must be really good at the game because we haven't found her, even Casey came to help us, saying she wanted to talk to her.

"This is weird, we searched the whole house and she isn't here," Lizzie said as she scratched her head.

"She has to be here, where else can she go?" Casey asked her. I racked my brain as I looked around the living room. My eyes narrowed as they rested on the front door; it was open a bit. "Grab your coats!" I ordered as I moved towards the coat rack and pulled down my leather jacket.

"What?" They all asked in unison.

"Are you all deaf? I said grab your coats!"

"Derek, are you saying she left?" Casey asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"That's exactly what I'm saying and we have to go find her," I responded as I tossed Lizzie and Edwin their jackets. "Marti and I will search the park, Lizzie you and Edwin check Emily's house and then check the neighborhood, if you don't find her come back here and wait for Dad and Nora. Casey, you check the mall."

"The mall? Why the mall?"

"Because there's a good chance that you'll find her walking the streets as you drive there," I responded as I rolled my eyes. They just stood there, staring at me as I started to get agitated. "Now go! Go go go go go go go!" I said as I shoved them all out the front door.

"Are we going to find her, Smerek?" Marti asked as she took my hand and we began walking down the street to the park.

"Yeah, Smarti. We'll find her," I responded as I gave her hand a small squeeze. I shoved my free hand into my jacket pocket as my breath came out in front of me. We walked a good five minutes when Marti started to slow down so I picked her up and held her as I continued walking. I felt her breaths against my neck and that confirmed that she had fallen asleep. When I reached the park I looked around and sighed once I noticed Mack sitting on a swing, gently pushing herself with her feet. I put Marti down on a bench that was nearby before I walked over to Mack. "Hey," I said as I lightly touched her arm.

"God Derek, I left your house! I'm out of your fucking life. What else do you want from me?" She demanded without looking at me.

"I…we want you to come back," I responded as I shoved my hands into my jean pockets.

"What if I _don't_ want to come back?"

"Please come back," I said as I walked around the swing set and got on my knees so I was looking her in the eye. "Believe it or not…things would be dull without you there. I would…miss you. Again."

She stayed silent before her blue eyes hardened and she said in a cold tone, "You hurt me, Derek."

"I know and I'm…s-s…sorry." I took a breath and added, "I wasn't thinking and I never meant to hurt you. I just…wanted things the way they were in the old days; when we were younger."

"You can't keep living in the past, Derek. We've grown, we've changed…well, I have at least. You're still the same skirt-chaser."

"And you're still the same sarcastic-punkette I knew before you…y'know, left. Listen, I want to give our friendship one more try."

"…same here."

"So, will you come back with us?"

"Yeah."

I smiled as she stood and stretched. Before I knew it I was hugging her tightly. I really hated hugs, but when it came to Mack or Smarti, I would make an exception. I picked up her bag as she walked over to Marti and picked her up before we started walking back home.


	7. Changes Part 1

**A/N: Sorry it took me long to update. Nothing really impotant in here, but I hope you like it anyway.**

**Chapter Seven–Changes**

_**-MACK'S POV-**_

"DER-EK! How many times have I told you to pick up your cloths after you're finished in the shower?" Casey demanded as she stormed down the stairs. "You're so infuriating!"

"_You're_ influrit…ernate…tering," Derek shot back in an uncertain tone as Lizzie and Marti giggled form the kitchen table.

"Surprisingly I don't think that's a word," Casey said sarcastically as she sat down at the table and reached for a doughnut.

"Surprisingly, I don't care," Derek shot back as he got up to put his bow in the sink. "Hey Smack, what're you doing after school?" He asked once I walked into the kitchen.

"Babysitting Smarti," I responded as I ruffled her hair.

"Casey will do it. You are coming with me to the hockey rink," he said as he dodged the doughnut that Casey threw at him. He picked it up and threw it back; causing a small lump of glaze to stick to her nose once it connected with it.

"What's the real reason you want me to come?" I asked as I looked at him in suspicion before reaching for a muffin and taking a large bite out of it. "You can't trick me into doing things for you," I added once I swallowed.

"Fine. I wanted you to just have a friendly hockey competition against some of the guys," he said as he rolled his eyes.

"The rest of the truth please," I pressed as I raised an eyebrow.

"I think I know what he wanted to do," Casey said as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Since you know about her…intimidating nature you wanted to use that to scare some of the figure skaters into your arms. Well, we won't stand for that! Women are not used to–" I shoved part of a doughnut into her mouth.

"Sorry. But if I didn't stop you, you would've gone on for days and I have a test to study for," I said as I gave her an apologetic look.

"You? Study?" Derek asked before he burst out laughing.

"I think it's great that she wants to focus on her studies. Way to go, Mack," Casey said as she smiled at me.

"I think that you're starting to brainwash her," Derek shot back. "She hates to study. She's been living in that same infested room as you for way too long!"

"Brainwash!?" Casey cried out. I sighed and left the table, getting my stuff ready for school as I listened to their argument. Usually they argued over random stuff, like when Derek leaves the cap on the toothpaste open. But they normally don't argue about my studying habits.

"Yes, brainwash. It's when you turn Mack into a preppy klutz like you!"

"I'm only trying to keep her out of jail, unlike you. If you went, we'd all be happy!"

"HEY!" I shouted slamming my books down on the table, interrupting their argument. "I don't need you two worrying about my life! I got it covered, ok? Derek, so what if I want to get good grades? Casey, so what if I slack off half of the time? It's my life and I can ruin it anyway I want to!"

"That was an interesting debate. And it ends in a tie for the first time," Lizzie commented as she slid off of her stool.

"Hey, there's always a first time for everything," I said with a shrug as I grabbed my books.

-------------------

"God dammit. Watch where you're going!" I shouted at a football player as he passed by, laughing. I growled as I started to gather my books but they got kicked around by his other football buddies. "Stupid bigheaded football players," I muttered under my breath as I started gathering my books once more. I reached out for my last book but it was pulled out of my reach. "You again. Don't you know it's against the law to stalk people, Noel?" I asked once I stood and I yanked my book out of his hands. The statement was a bit harsh, but he has been 'appearing' by my side every single day and he was _really_ starting to get on my nerves.

"Stalking is when I follow you like I have nothing better to do," he commented as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "What I'm doing is just trying to get you to talk to me."

"Noel, I don't even talk to you during Drama. Why would you want me to talk to you now of all times?" I asked as I made my way through the crowd of students to my locker.

"Maybe because I want to get to know you better," he said as he followed me. I peered at him suspiciously before opening my locker door.

"Yeah right," I muttered as I threw my books into my locker before closing it and holding my others under my arm and spinning my dial. I ignored my beating heart as I tried to get past him.

"No really," he said as he stepped into my path. "Look, there's this new movie playing down at the theater. Maybe we could go check it out."

"How about no?" I asked as I pushed by him and walked down the hallway. I was passing by the fountain and the bathrooms when a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me inside. "Kidnap people recently?" I asked Casey sarcastically as I straightened my books that were about to fall out of my arms.

"What's going on with you and Noel?" Casey asked. Just hearing his name made my heart lurch, which bothered me so much.

"Nothing!" I responded as I gave her a look. "Can I leave now?"

"You two would make such a cute couple!" She said as she followed me out of the bathroom. "Do you want me to set things up between you two?"

"No!" I shouted at her. I glared at anyone who met my eye as I stomped towards my first period class.

"Hey Smack. Can–" Derek started.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled at him as I shoved by him.

"Well, someone's in a pissy mood."

'_No, someone is trying to avoid all of the changes.'_


	8. Changes Part 2

**Chapter Eight – Changes Part 2**

**-**_**NORMAL POV-**_

Casey closed the door behind her as she walked into the Venturi-McDonald house. She was confused about how Mack had reacted during the entire day. She yelled at everyone that crossed her path and she seemed to have this permanent scowl on her face. What also confused her was how…sensitive Derek had been towards her. Throughout the day if she looked like she was going scream at someone until their ear fell off, Derek would intervene and drag her away to talk to her. Once Casey saw them talking so close it looked as if Derek was about to kiss her. He had his forehead resting on hers and held her face so she was looking at him and he was talking softly.

"They aren't…dating…are they?" She asked herself as she hung her coat up on the hook. She shook her head as she laughed a little and made her way up the stairs. "No, of course not. That's just…too weird," she said as a smile lingered on her face at the thought. She stopped when she heard muffled voices coming from Derek's room. She thought it was Kendra, giving him a stern talking to, but the voice was too familiar.

"Ouch! Derek, get it out! It hurts!"

"Not yet. I didn't reach it."

"Derek, please! It hurts so bad."

"Will you stop crying like a baby? I'm almost there!"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

"Ok! I got it!"

"What're you two _doing_?" Casey asked as she barged her way into Derek's room. She quickly covered her nose when the "boy stench" as she liked to put it, invaded her nostrils. She looked around and saw Derek and Mack sitting cross legged on his bed. Derek was holding onto her finger and he had a pair of tweezers prodded into her now red finger.

"I was getting a splinter out of her finger," Derek responded as he pulled the object out and turned to face Casey. "Why? What did you think I was doing?"

"Derek, we need to talk," Casey said as she grabbed his arm and yanked him out of his room. She closed the door behind them as they stood out in the hall and hissed, "You know Mom's and George's rule. No girls allowed in your room! At all!"

"For one thing there's no girl sitting in my room," Derek started, "And for another, why are you so up in my business? If I'm not mistaken, you don't care about me. At all. So why start caring now?"

"You mean you two weren't…?" Casey asked as she looked back and forth from him and the door. She smiled as he gave her a look of confusion and a feeling of relief washed over her. "Nevermind," she said somewhat happily as she walked into her room. Derek gave her a suspicious look before moving back into his room.

"Derek, we need to talk," Mack said once he sat back down on his bed and faced her.

"About what?" He asked as he blinked in confusion. She has never called him Derek unless she wanted to talk about something important…or she was mad at her. And he couldn't remember ever playing a trick on her that got her mad at him…recently.

"About you and me," she responded as she looked up at him. "Derek, I'm not a little kid anymore. I can take care of myself. You don't need to worry about me."

"Who said anything about me being worried about you?" Derek asked with a smirk as he flicked her forehead. "I'm more worried about the people you can hurt when you're pissed off. Which makes me wonder, why you were so frustrated today?"

"Wasn't having a good day," she responded with a shrug as she avoided his gaze. "Had to take out my frustration on something. Might as well be someone else, right?"

He kept a suspicious look on his face as he said slowly, "You know you can trust me, right? You can tell me anything, Smack. Anything at all."

"I know," she responded as she nodded a little.

"So…do you think you can tell me why you ran away in the first place? Not that I'm not happy that you're here. But I just want to know."

She studied his face before letting out a sigh. "You've all been asking me that, and I'm still not sure if I should tell you the whole story. But what I _can_ tell you is that someone is after me. He wants to kill me. I don't know why, he just does. That's why I've ran away from house to house as I tried to find my way back here."

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

Mack laughed a little at the tone of concern in his voice. It was so unlike Derek to be that concerned over her, or anyone in general.

"Right now, all I need is for you guys to not worry about me. I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, I bet you do," Derek said as he grabbed his pillow and lightly hit her across the face. She grabbed it out of his hands and started to attack him as he laughed and fell back against his pillows. His arms covered his face as she continued hitting him. He grabbed the pillow out of her hands and hit her with it again as their laughter subsided. As he got his breath back he finally realized the compromising position they were in. Mack was straddling him and their faces were really close. He just stared up at her, wondering if she was going to do anything. He blinked when he saw that she was slowly leaning towards him. Something about her drew him closer to her. Closer and closer their heads got, their lips almost meeting…

"Hey Derek, can I talk to you about something?" Edwin's muffled voice came from the other side of the door, jerking them back into reality. Mack jumped off of the bed and rushed out of the room, but not before Derek noticed that her face was a light shade of red. He stared at the ceiling before Edwin came in and obstructed his vision. "What happened in here, Derek?"

"Nothing…" he responded as he hit Edwin with his pillow. "Thanks to you," he added under his breath.


	9. Coming Together Against a Greater Enemy

**Chapter Nine–Coming Together Against a Greater Enemy**

"Wow, you're really dressed up," Casey noted as Nora and George came down the stairs and into the living room where Casey was curled up on the couch, reading a book. "Where are you going?"

"We've been invited to a party. But it's held in the next city so we won't be back until later tomorrow night," Nora responded. "Now, there are some rules I expect you all to follow. No parties. No loud music. No one comes over. You can order pizza but you can't order movies for tv. Someone has to watch Marti at all times. Um, am I forgetting anything?"

"Have fun," George suggested as he helped Nora into her coat. "Don't let Marti stay up too late."

Nora walked over to her oldest daughter, lowered her voice and asked, "And can you talk to Lizzie? She's been acting strange lately."

"Sure, mom, I'll go talk to her," Casey said as a smile came to her face. "We can have a girl's night in. A romantic movie, some makeup, and baking will cheer her up."

"If not make her throw up at all the girlyness," Derek commented as he bounded down the stairs before dropping down on his chair. He reclined it and grabbed the remote out of Casey's hand, ignoring the angry/shocked look that came to her face.

"Have fun, I have everything under control here," Casey said as she smiled at her parents. They smiled back before waving and leaving the house. Once the door closed it seemed as if all of the kids popped out of nowhere and stormed the family room. Mack came bounding down the stairs and walked over to Casey.

"Hey Case, I need the car keys," she said as she held out her hand.

"For what?" Casey asked as she looked up at her in suspicion.

"Well, you kind of can't drive a car without car keys," Mack said slowly as if she were talking to a kindergartener. She still held out her hand and Casey sighed before pulling them out. She was about to place them in Mack's hand when she yanked it back.

"Just one more question," Casey said once she noticed the look on Mack's face. "Where are you going?"

"Out," Mack replied shortly as she pulled the keys out of Casey's hands.

"Out where?" Derek asked as he flung out his arm to block her path.

"Outside, and that's two questions!" She snapped before slapping his arm away and grabbing her jacket. "I'll be back later," she said before she left the house.

"All right," Casey said as she put her book down, crossed her arms, and gave Derek a hard look. "What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing," Derek replied shortly as he turned his attention back to the screen. Casey noticed that his jaw was set and his eyes were flashing in anger as he crossed his arms. He glanced over and saw that Casey, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti were all looking at him. "What?" He asked, without receiving an answer. He tried to watch TV a little bit more but he could still feel their eyes on him. "Will you _STOP_ staring at me?" He shouted, causing them all to jump. He angrily got up off his chair and stomped up the stairs.

"Derek, wait! Talk to us! C'mon!" Casey called as she chased after him. Lizzie, Marti, and Edwin looked up the direction of the stairs when they heard them shouting.

"Casey! Leave me alone!"

"You can't hide from me forever, Derek Venturi!"

"I can always try!"

"They will never change," Lizzie said with a small chuckled.

"But if they did, then living here wouldn't be as fun as it is now," Edwin agreed as he casually draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, and it's fun living here," Marti agreed as she sat down where Casey was sitting and changed the channel. Lizzie and Edwin didn't say anything when she changed it to cartoons. Lizzie just scooted closer to Edwin and rested her head on his shoulder as he held her a little bit tighter. He smiled down at her before returning his attention to the TV screen as Marti giggled softly.

After a couple more minutes of their shouting match Derek came back down the stairs, pulling his leather jacket on as Casey followed behind him. "Where are you going? You can't leave!"

"Watch me," he shot back before opening the front door.

"DER-EK! You have to help me baby-sit!" She yelled into the night. She recoiled when a snowball hit her square in the face. Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti laughed as Casey angrily slammed the door shut and wiped off her face. She huffed in frustration before stomping up the stairs. The house was surprisingly quiet for the next two hours as the kids stayed glued to the couch, eyes fixed on the TV as they heard music pouring from Casey's room upstairs. It was 9:00 when the front door flew open with such force that it caused Edwin, Marti, and Lizzie to scream in terror as they jumped.

"I _can't_ believe you, Venturi!" Mack shouted as she came through the door. She tossed her jacket on the hook and whirled around to face him. "I can't believe you _at all_!"

"_You_ can't believe _me_!?" Derek cried out once he slammed the door shut behind himself and tossed his jacket at the hook. He didn't care that it missed the hook all together. "_I_ can't believe _you_! Going out on a date with…_him_!"

"You're such a fucking hypocrite! You go around flirting with girls all of the time and you date them constantly and that's fine. But when _I _get a date it's not right? What kind of fucked up logic is that?"

"_My_ logic," Derek shot back as he stepped closer so he was glaring down at her. "You can't date Noel."

"And why not?" Mack asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Earlier today you hated the guy!"

"My mind can change from school to now. And besides, you can't tell me who I can and can't date!"

"Oh yes I can."

"Oh no you can't!"

"Yes I can! I'm older."

"And your brain cells must've died the older you got." She snapped and added, "Oh yeah, I went there!"

"You're _so_ immature," Derek muttered.

"_Me!?_ How dare you–" Mack was stopped in midrant when they heard Casey's shrill scream. Edwin and Lizzie jumped up from the couch as Marti covered her ears. Mack whirled around to see Casey running down the stairs at top speed. "What's wrong?"

"There's…someone outside," she responded as she rushed to the front door and made sure it was locked.

"What?" Derek asked as his eyebrows knitted together. "Are you sure?" Marti whimpered before running over to Derek and clutching the hem of his shirt. Lizzie and Edwin ran over and held onto Casey as they looked around in fear. "Casey." Derek's voice cracked a little as he said her name. He cleared his throat and continued. "Casey, you take the others and go hide. I'll go see if someone's out there and then I'll call the police."

"Derek, are you crazy?" Edwin asked as he looked up at his older brother. "What if someone is out there? What if someone has a gun?"

"Smerek are you going to get shot?" Marti asked in fear as she held onto him in a tighter grip.

"I'm not going to get shot, Smarti. I'm just going to make sure no one is out there, ok?" He said as he pried his little sister's arms off of him. "Now…go upstairs. All of you. Go! Go go go go go go go!" He shoved them up the stairs before he grabbed the baseball bat that was lying close to the front door. He made his way to the back door, gripping the bat tightly in his hand. He reached a shaking hand to the knob and rested his hand on it.

"Derek?"

"AAAAAAAAH!" He screamed as he jumped. He whirled around and backed up until he was resting on the door as he held his chest. "Don't _do_ that! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"If I wanted to do that I'd flash you," Mack said dryly ignoring his gasping for air. "You can't go out there alone."

"Am I supposed to take that as you meaning you're coming with me?" Derek asked as he raised and eyebrow.

"Maybe you're not as slow as I thought," Mack said in fake wonder as she placed a finger on her chin.

"Just come on," Derek said before pulling open the door. They stepped out into the cool night air and looked around the dark backyard. Derek gripped the bat before quickly walking around the house once. He was about to comment on Casey seeing things when he went around the house once more. He froze when he saw someone slowly creeping up behind Mack as she checked the bushes that lined the house. He gripped the bat in his other hand and, without thinking, ran forward and smashed it over the persons head before grabbing Mack's arm and yanking her inside the house. He slammed the door shut and locked it before running around the house and locking the other doors and windows. "Ok, I think we're going to be safe."

"You think?" Mack repeated as she grabbed the phone. She frowned as she pulled it away from her ear. "That's weird," she muttered.

"What? What's weird?" Derek asked as he looked over at her.

"No dial tone," she responded as she put it down. "You have your cell?"

"Grounded. Got it taken away for three weeks," he responded in a bored tone. "What about you?"

"Dead," Mack responded. They both looked up as the lights started to flicker. "Oh please don't–" she stopped in the middle of her sentence when the lights flashed off. "Turn off."

"Nice going, Jynx," Derek muttered as he tried to find his way to the kitchen. He tripped over a chair in the process, landing smack dab on his face. "Shut up!" He hissed when Mack burst out laughing. He finally made it to the sink and started checking drawers before he found a flashlight. He turned it on and started making his way back towards the stairs. "All right, you stay here while I get everyone else."

"And let me get attacked by that psycho out there? I don't think so!" Mack said as she put her hands on her hips.

"_You're_ the one who lead that _psycho_ here _in the first place!_" Derek yelled as he pointed at her. Mack flipped him off before he ran up the stairs, Mack followed close behind. Derek checked Lizzie's, Edwin's, and Marti's bedrooms before walking, more like barging, his way into Casey's room, causing everyone inside to scream. "What're you guys screaming at?"

"We thought you were a big monster," Lizzie responded.

"I see the comparison," Mack commented. Derek glared at her before shining the flashlight on all of them to make sure they were all there. "Come on, we're staying downstairs in the living room. Case, bring your cell phone."

"You mean, like a sleepover?" Marti asked as she ran over to Derek.

"Exactly," he responded as Casey ushered Lizzie and Edwin out of the bedroom. Mack had a knowing smirk on her face when Lizzie and Edwin passed by, which made them glance at each other. Derek's face faultered when the light started flickering. "Oh, come on!" He shouted once the light went out. "I _hate this_!" He cried out in frustration. "Try to make your way downstairs!" He ordered as he held out his hands and waved them in front of him to try and find his way downstairs. "Wait, what's this?" He asked as he grasped something. He cried out in pain as a loud _smack_ was heard.

"Don't _touch me_!" Mack growled through clenched teeth.

"Like I can see where I'm going!" Derek snapped.

"Will you two stop behaving like little kids!" Casey snapped once they got all the way down stairs and were sitting down on the couch. "You two have been friends for a long time, and I still can't understand why. You can't let your friendship be ruined over a stupid argument. Now, I want you two to make up." She added as she lit some candles and put them around the living room before sitting back down.

"I hate to say it…but Casey's right," Mack grumbled. "Let's just stop this stupid argument."

"All right," Derek said with a sigh. "Apologize on 3, ok?"

"All right. 1. 2. 3."

"I'm sorry."

"I accept."

Derek laughed a little as Mack smirked at him. He grabbed the pillow he was sitting on and hit her across the face with it. A shocked look came across her face as she took it and threw it back at him. But she missed and hit Casey in the face instead, which caused Derek to burst out laughing. Casey retaliated by hitting him back which, of course, started a pillow fight.

"Pillow fight! Pillow fight!" Marti shouted.

------------------

George and Nora laughed as they opened the door to their house. They stopped abruptly when they noticed that the lights were off and the children were all on the couch asleep. Derek and Casey sat in the middle, Lizzie on Casey's right, Mack on Derek's left. Edwin was resting next to Lizzie, their fingers intertwined lightly. Marti was laying on both Derek's and Casey's laps. Derek's arms were wrapped protectively around Marti and Mack's head was on Derek's shoulder while his head was on top of hers.

"We can ask them in the morning," Nora whispered. George nodded and his gaze lingered on Derek and Mack for a moment. Nora followed his gaze and smiled.

"What a cute couple," she whispered before they went up the stairs.


	10. Gunshots Rain Over Canada Part 1

**Chapter Ten – Gunshots Rain Over Canada Part 1**

**-MACK'S POV-**

"Derek, if you want a ride to school you better get ready now because Mack and I need t get to school early," Casey said as she walked into the kitchen the next week. I didn't have to look up from the milk that I was pouring into Marti's bowl to know that Derek had a sour look on his face.

"Why do you need to go to school early? We spend enough time there during the day all ready," he commented before taking a sip of his orange juice. He made a face before letting out a loud burp.

"And Derek does it again!" Edwin exclaimed before the brothers bumped fists.

"I really don't understand how you think burping contests are fun," Lizzie said as she reached for a piece of toast. Derek snatched it off of the plate and stuffed it in his mouth. "Hey! Derek!"

"Derek!" George echoed as he came into the kitchen. He stood next to his eldest son and looked down at him, anger flashing in his eyes. "I thought I told you to clean the garage out last weekend! When are you going to do it like I asked?"

"Sr-ee, chnt tlk wif ma mouf fuu," Derek said, spraying bits of toast on Marti and Lizzie who shrieked and frantically slapped at their faces and clothes to get the food off of them. "Lehs ge' to skoo'," he added as he grabbed his backpack and shoved Casey and I towards the front door. Once we were out the door he spat the chewed up ball of toast onto the ground before pulling a half empy bottle of root beer out of his backpack. He took a gulp, gargled, and spat it into the grass before following us to the car.

"Derek, that's disgusting," Casey groaned as she slid into the driver's seat.

"No, what's disgusting is the fact that you always have to go around being a Grade-Grubber," Derek shot back as he got into the passenger side.

"_I'm_ not the one who drinks milk out of the carton and then puts it back!"

"Well _I'm_ not the one who's crazy enough to go to the guidance counselor everyday!"

"What does _that_ have anything to do with being disgusting."

"You being my sister is disgusting enough!"

"_Step-sister_!"

I rolled my eyes as argument #1,284 started to pick up it's pace so I stuck my i-pod earbuds in my ears and turned up the music so I wouldn't hear them over the music. I bobbed my head to Three Days Grace's _Animal I Have Become_ as I stared out the window. As we passed by houses and started to get closer to the school the feeling of someone watching me got stronger and stronger. I looked around as we continued down the street to see if any car was following us but there wasn't. _'Relax, no one's following us. It's just your mind playing tricks on you.'_

I practically jumped out of the car and ran inside the school once we reached the parking lot. I ran straight into the bathroom and dropped my backpack. In a rush, I unzipped my backpack and dumped everything out. There was a small metal _ping_ as the razor I was looking for hit the bathroom floor. I picked it up before rolling up the striped arm warmer I had on my left arm, letting my old, and some new, scars be illuminated by the light. Without hesitating I dragged the razor across my skin, sighing as the blood seeped out along with my locked up emotions. I stood there, staring at the blood a couple more minutes before I washed my wrist, made sure the bleeding stopped, and covered it with my arm warmer once more.

I slipped out of the bathroom and started walking towards my locker. That's when the feeling of being watched appeared again. I just ignored it as I threw in my backpack and started to get out my books for Science, which was right after Homeroom.

"Guess who," someone said as hands covered my eyes.

"Being a little juvenile, I see. I guess someone doesn't want to graduate as much as the others in this school," I commented before turning around to see Noel smiling a little.

"I'd like to stay in High School as long as I can so if that means I have to be juvenile to do it…well, then it's a good thing I took Drama as my elective," he responded. He peered at me before asking. "What's wrong? Did Derek play a trick on you?"

"Why do you always suspect the worst of Derek?" I questioned as I raised an eyebrow. "Believe it or not Derek has a nice side."

Before he could comment there was a loud crash from down the hall. We both turned to see Derek and his best friends, Sam and Ralph, hysterically laughing as they ran down the hall. A boy walked out of the bathroom, clothes wet, toilet paper hanging off of him in wet clumps. Noel turned to face me with an I-told-you-so smirk on his face.

"Oh yeah, Derek's a real angel," he said as he rolled his eyes.

"Are you here to put down the family I live with?" I asked as I gave him a hard look.

"Even though I'm not particularly _fond_ of Derek, that's not why I'm here," he replied as he pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me. I stared at the piece of paper before taking it and reading what it said.

"Wha…how…when…?" I stammered as he smiled. "Ok, let me try to form a sentence," I said as I tried to piece one together in my head. "How did you get this? When did you get it? How did you know?"

"I saved up my money for a couple of weeks. I got it just last weekend. And I knew that Green Day was your favorite band because I asked around," he said as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's no big deal really." I laughed at his nonchalant attitude because it wasn't working, especially because his face was turning red.

"Do you want me to assume that I'm going alone?" I asked as I waved the ticket around.

"Well, um, I got another for me…that is, if you want to go with me," he said as he took a sudden interest in the ground as he shuffled his feet.

"Ok, I'm not going to torture you much longer so I'll say yes," I said while laughing. "God knows I need some fun in my life."

"Really?" Noel couldn't hide his relief. "Cool. Umm, Derek is ok with this?"

"I don't need Derek's permission to go hang out with other people," I responded through clenched teeth. "And, if he _does_ have a problem with it, then that's his fault. He can't protect me all of his life."

"I meant to ask, how did you know Derek anyway?"

"I want to leave that buried in my past." I glanced at my watch before brushing past him. I went straight to homeroom and dropped down in my seat. I doodle in my notebook as I waited for the students to come into the room. Like usual, I ignored the girls who asked me tons of questions ranging from does he wear boxers all the way down to what toothpaste does he use. I practically had nail marks in the desk from dragging my fingernails across it in annoyance. As the Homeroom teacher started talking I pulled out my cell phone, which I got from Nora and George for emergencies, and quickly sent Derek a text.

**Mack:** Ur bimbo stlkers wont leave me alone!

I watched as Derek pulled out his cell phne and held it under his desk. He checked the screen before smirking and typing a reply.

**Derek:** I can c ur face turning green. Jell much?

I had to bite my lip to keep from scoffing out loud as I looked over at him. He glanced up and smirked before I rolled my eyes and sent a text back.

**Mack:** Ur so conceited u think I'm jealous?

"Teacher!" I heard Casey hiss behind me as I tried to shove my cell phone into my pocket but I slammed my hand onto the desk and let out a muffled scream of pain.

"Ms. Montgomery, no cell phones," the teacher said as he held out his palm. I sighed before slapping it into his hand. He looked at the screen and rounded on Derek, who was leaning over his desk, laughing. "You too, Mr. Venturi. You don't need directions to Detention, but maybe you could help Ms. Montgomery along the way."

"Does Derek always drag people into his mess?" I asked as I leaned back slight so Casey would hear me.

"Unfortunately," Case whispered back.

"Ms, MacDonald, you know that there is no talking in Homeroom!" The teacher barked at her. "You can join Mr. Venturi and Ms. Montgomery in detention."

I whirled around to see how Casey would react. Her eyes were wide and she seemed to have trouble breathing. Emily, one girl who bothered me about Derek ever since I got there, handed her a bag and she started breathing into it. I turned back around to see that Derek had a look in his eye that made it seem like Christmas had come early.

"I can't believe you two got me in trouble!" Casey hissed once we left the Homeroom.

"Us!? I didn't do anything. For once, it's not my fault," Derek said before rounding on me. "Miss Texts-a-Lot is the one that got us both in trouble."

"Hold on, if it weren't for those…whores who kept asking me about what you wear to bed, we wouldn't be in this mess!" I shot back as I rolled my eyes. I pushed on the door but I froze when I saw who was standing at the end of the hall.

It was _him._

"Mackenzie, so we finally meet again," he said as a malicious grin crossed his face. I tensed as Derek and Casey looked at him in a mixture of confusion and fear.

"Who is this guy?" Casey asked as she gripped my arm.

"Someone I've been trying to forget," I responded as I held his gaze. "Leave. You don't know what you're doing. There are innocent people around!"

"I don't give a damn about anyone else but you, Princess," he responded as he reached to his hip. I instantly knew what he was going to do.

"RUN!" I shouted as I shoved Casey and Derek and I took off down the hall. They dind't say anything and obeyed. Everyone else in the hall looked around before screams were heard, accompanied by heavy footsteps and a loud popping noise.

Only one word came to my mind:

_Gunshot._


	11. Gunshots Rain over Canada Part 2

**A/N: Ok, I know you all are reading this and I really need some feedback from you all, so please review. It doesn't have to be long, I just want to know if you like it or not and if I need to make some changes in grammar for example. Thanks for your time.**

**Chapter Eleven - Gunshots Rain over Canada Part 2**

**-DEREK'S POV-**

Casey's loud scream caused the others in the hallway to look around and see what we were running from. It took until that guy turned the corner with a raised gun for people to start screaming and running around, not that it would make a difference. I knew deep down that he only had his eyes set on Mack and he didn't seem like the type of person that would spare others to get what he wanted.

I quickly ducked when I heard another gunshot. Mack grabbed my arm and pulled me down another hallway. I reached out to get Casey but something knocked into her causing her to scream and fall to the ground.

"Casey!" I cried out as I tried to reach for her.

"Derek, are you insane?" Mack shouted as she continued to pull on my arm. "Those students delayed that guy for about a couple of seconds. We have to hide!"

"But Casey–" I started.

"She'll be fine! We have to go! Come on!"

Biting my lip, I turned and followed her into the library, right as the librarian was closing the door and locking it, along with the door of the computer lab. She ushered us under the desks and I didn't hesitate to dive under one. I took deep breaths to calm my racing heart, but it was thudding against my chest too hard.

"We shouldn't have left Casey," I said in a hoarse whisper as I looked over at Mack.

"There was nothing we could do, Derek," Mack said as she shook her head. "Casey is a smart girl. She'll be fine."

"Can you promise me that?" I demanded as I glared at her. "Afterall, _you're_ the reason we're in in danger. It wouldn't surprise me if my whole family was in danger because of you! You just _had_ to come back to Canada!"

"I couldn't stay at my other home!" Mack snapped back in a fierce whisper. "I just couldn't stay! And it was your mother who offered for me to stay, I couldn't turn her down!"

"Well, you–"

I stopped talking when I heard frantic bangs on the library door. For once I saw that Mack was genuinely terrified. Her face lost it's color as she clamped her mouth shut. The other students around us stifled muffled screams as the bangs on the door got more frantic and were louder.

'_God, please get me out of here.'_

--------------

**-CASEY'S POV-**

I screamed in pain as students ran over me and tripped over me as I tried to get back to my feet. Once I was able to I noticed that the hallway was quickly emptying out.

"Derek?" I called out. My response was a gunshot. I shrieked and fell to the ground, covering my head as glass rained down on me. I shrieked once more when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

"Come on, I'll take you to a safe place," he said in a rushed tone as he started to pull me down the hallway.

"But, my brother, and my friends…" I choked out as I looked behind me to see if any of them were still in the hallway.

"Do you _want_ to die?" He demanded as he glanced back at me. I silently shook my head as he continued to pull me down the hall. His green eyes seemed to soften before he turned back around and lead me down a different hallway. I felt my stomach churn when I saw a splatter or blood on some of the lockers.

"Wait, we can hide in the bathroom," I said as I started to drag him over.

"The bathroom?" He repeated.

"It's the closest place and we might be able to leave by the window," I said hastily as I pulled him inside. Some people screamed but relaxed when they saw who it was. I looked and saw that some of them had bruises and some of them had cuts from glass that scratched them. One girl was on her side holding her arm and crying as another gently stroked her hair and talked to her.

"Do shooters check bathrooms?" A small girl asked as she trembled. I glanced over and noticed that she had a large bruise forming on her cheek. Her eyes locked with mine and she smiled a little, reasurre me.

It didn't work that well, especially when I heard more gunshots and more screams down the hall.

"Depends on the person," the boy responded as he wiped a couple of drops of blood off of his forehead.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before," I commented as I looked him over. He reminded me a lot of Mack: the jet black hair, the facial structure, the attitude. He could've been her brother but…she said she had no siblings.

"Not everyone talks to every student who's in their class. I've been here for a while," he said with a small smile. "Matthew."

"Casey."

My eyes widened when I heard footsteps on the other side of the door. They were rapid yet quiet at the same time. My heart lurched in fear as we waited in intense silence. The only other sound was of a girl sobbing and sniffing. Some others tried to shush her but she wouldn't be quiet. Tears started falling down my cheeks as I thought of my family. _'Oh God, I hope Derek and Mack are ok.'_

"We'll be fine," Matthew said barely above a whisper, but we all heard him as he scooted over and pressed his back against the door.

"Brave words," one girl couldn't help but mutter. "What if we get shot?" I looked over and noticed that she was crammed underneath the sink.

"Lay over and pretend to be dead," Matthew said without hesitation. "They won't shoot you again if they think you're dead.

"You seem to know a lot about–" I was cut off as I screamed. The door swung open and Matthew was shoved against the opposite wall. I quickly jumped up and locked myself in the stall, covering my ears as gunshots were heard and screams filled the bathroom. I bit my lip hard and whimpered when I felt stinging pain in my side. What felt like eternity but was only a couple of seconds later, the bathroom door closed. I rested my head on my knees and cried even more.

'_Please, let me get out of this alive and please let Derek and Mack be ok.'_

As I sat there I thought about all of the fights that I had had with Derek ever since we moved into the Venturi house. It wasn't that I didn't like Derek. Sure, he was annoying a lot and his habits were disgusting. But I actually looked forward to our arguments. It was like a battle of wits and, although he got me frustrated, they were fun to me and it got me something to look forward to during my day.

If he was gone…

Oh my god…

I love Derek…

---------

**-MATTHEW'S POV-**

The shooter didn't get to me because I was behind the bathroom door but I would gladly have taken a bullet for any of the girls that were in here. They would be lucky if they were alive. Once the shooter left I cursed to myself about how afraid I was before I slowly moved out of the way of the door and checked on the girls. A couple of them were dead and some were bleeding. The ones in the stalls came out fine, expect for Casey, who was bleeding on her side.

"I'll be fine, the bullet barley hit me," she said once she noticed my stare.

"Who is the shooter anyway?" A girl asked as she spat blood out of her mouth and wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her shirt.

"I don't wanna know who that bastard is!" The girl who was clutching her arm had a dark look on her face. "He's a psycho! That's all I know! And he deserves to die himself!"

"Maybe he has a reason for doing this," I said softly as I brushed my hair out of my eyes.

"What reason could this be?" Casey asked as she squeezed her eyes shut. Bitterness has seeped into her voice, which shocked me. "Does the psycho enjoy hearing us scream in pain? Does he enjoy watching our blood fall onto the ground?"

"He could be troubled," I told her fiercely. "He might be trying to get attention so people would help him!"

Silence hung in the air as Casey and I glared at each other. I broke eye contact as I moved over to the window, opened it, and looked out. We were too high to jump out of the window, unless we wanted to break our bones. I pulled out my cell phone to check if I had a signal when I saw that my battery was dead. Angrily, I threw it out just as I saw a body fall past the window and land on the ground with a sickening thud. I swallowed hard before closing the window and turning back to them.

"Look," I started.

"He has a gun!" The girl holding her arm said as she pointed at me. I glanced down and noticed that my shirt had ridden up when I ran a hand through my hair so my gun was visible. I glanced around and saw that they all had shocked and terrified looks on their faces.

"Shit," I muttered.

-----------

**-MACK'S POV-**

I flinched as the door burst open and someone slowly walked inside. I could hear Derek's shaky breaths next to me and I placed my hand on his arm to silence him. He shifted so he grasped my hand and squeezed it tightly. Despite the situation I could feel my face grow warm.

'_Sort out your feelings later, Montgomery. Think about the trouble ahead and think about how you're going to get out of it!'_ I told myself as I shook my head slightly. I flinched every time there was a gunshot and a scream. The black boots got closer and closer to us and the person fired bullets and anyone who was close to him or anyone he had eye contact with.

I let out a short gasp as a hand reached under our table and pulled me out by the collar of my shirt. The man was grinning at me evilly as he seized me by the arm. I tried to get out of his grasp but he had a tight hold, like he did a couple of months ago.

"It's time to end this game of Hide 'n' Seek," he said with a chuckle.

"You killed all of these innocent people–" I started but he squeezed my arm tight, causing pain to shoot up my arm.

"Just to get to you, Princess!" He said with a nod and a small laugh. "Now come quietly and we will get this whole mess figured out." He started to drag me towards the door and I tried to pull out of his grasp as best as I could but he only held on tighter.

"Stop!" I turned around and cursed under my breath when Derek crawled out from under the table and stood. "Don't hurt her," he aid as he locked eyes with the ma who had me. "Please, don't hurt her."

"You idiot, do you want to die?" I demanded.

"Don't hurt her," he repeated as the man laughed.

"I can't believe it. A girl like you actually settled down and found yourself a boyfriend," the man said with a laugh. It stopped abruptly when he raised his gun and pointed it at Derek. "I hope you loved him."

"NO!" I shouted over the gunshot.

Derek staggered back a step as a rose of blood blossomed on the front of his shirt.

He fell in the silence…

---------------

**-NORMAL POV-**

"Daddy, can I have some juice?" Marti asked as she looked up at him.

"Of course you can, sweetie," George said as he kissed the top of her head before getting to his feet. Marti ended up being sick and George had to stay with her at the last minute. They spent that morning watching cartoons and playing with her stuffed animals. They were watching more TV in silence but Marti, from time to time, would tell him about her favorite part in an episode and crack up when it happened.

George poured some orange juice into a cup and was on his way back to her when the phone rang. He rushed over to it, spilling the orange juice on the way. Groaning in frustration and wiped frantically at the spot that was on his shirt before picking up the phone.

"Hello?" He asked as he picked up the phone.

"Is this Mr. Venturi?" A voice asked on the other line.

"This is he," George responded.

"This is Michael Thompson, the principal of Sir John Sparrow Thompson High School."

"Oh," George said with a sigh. "What did Derek do this time? Put glitter glue in the Vice Principal's chair?"

"Sir," Mr. Thompson said slowly. "There's been a shooting at school."

"What!?" George asked in shock. "Well, are the kids ok? Derek? Casey? Mackenzie?"

"So far that we know Casey and Mackenzie are ok."

"And Derek…?"

"I'm sorry…Derek has been shot."


	12. Confessions of a Teenage Runaway

**Chapter Twelve – Confessions of a Teenage Runaway**

**-MACK'S POV-**

"No! No no no no!" I cried as I continued to struggle to get out of the man's grasp. I was able to kick him in the balls. I rushed over to Derek and dropped down at his side. I rested my ear against his chest to check if his heart was still beating. It was, but it seemed like it was going to slow down. I placed my hands on his wound to try and stop the blood from coming out. When that didn't seem to work I checked his pulse to see that it was getting fainter. "No, no, no, no!" I muttered as I pressed harder on Derek's wound. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" I called. I glanced over to see that the guy was just watching with an amused look on his face. "Derek…c'mon man, c'mon. Don't die," I said as I shook him.

"Try all you want, he's not going to survive this," the guy said as he started laughing. "You should be lucky that I'm not killing you yet. This is all just too funny."

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else!" I growled as I stood. "Just take me all ready and get this over with."

"Aww, now it's not as much fun anymore," he said as he shook his head and lifted his gun once more. "Oh well, since you asked nicely." I tensed, waiting for him to pull the trigger. I knew he was prolonging it just to get on my nerves. _'Come on! Come on!'_

"Say goodnight, Princess," he said with a smirk.

"Go to hell, bastard!" Another masculine voice commanded. The guy whirled around to see a boy with shaggy black hair and sharp green eyes. He boy had a gun raised and it was pointing right at the guy. Without hesitation he pulled the trigger and the bullet hit him in the shoulder. He fell back and hit his head on a bookshelf, knocking him out. "You all right?" The boy asked as he walked over to me.

"I can't believe it," I muttered as I locked eyes with him. He just stared back as a soft smile came to his face. He stepped forward and gently kissed my forehead.

"I missed ya, sis," he muttered. He glanced over and rushed to Derek's side. I just stared, frozen as he checked his pulse and listened to his heart. He waited a couple more minutes before saying, "We go the police contacted they will be here soon." he nodded down at Derek and said, "He will be fine. He stopped bleeding and his pulse is steady."

"Matt, what're you doing here?" I asked after I finally found my voice. "How did you find me?"

"We'll get to that later. The important thing right now is to get out of here before the gunman wakes up," Matt responded as he took my hand and started to pull me towards the front of the school.

"Matt. Wait! I have to see if Noel is ok! And Casey!" I cried after him. He stopped walking and looked at me.

"Casey?" he questioned. "Brown haired, brown eyed, preppy Casey? That Casey?"

"Yeah. How do you know her?"

"She's fine. She was with me in the bathroom when the gunman came in. A bullet barley hit her. She bled a little bit but she's fine."

I sighed partly in relief and allowed Matt to take me all the way outside. Right as we stepped out into the sunlight I squeezed my eyes shut from the brightness. Once they were open all the way I walked down the stairs and looked around.

"Mackenzie!" I turned and rushed over to the Venturi-McDonald family and gave them all hugs. "Mack, do you know where Derek and Casey are?" Nora asked as she held me by the shoulders. "Please tell me they're ok."

"That I know of Casey is fine, she should be out soon," I responded. "But Derek…he got shot."

"No!" Lizzie gasped as she covered her mouth. Tears formed in her eyes and her shoulders started to shake. Edwin wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him as she rested her head on his shoulder. Marti started bawling so I picked her up and held her close.

"Matt, can you go see if you can find Noel? He's about your height, short black hair, brown eyes, he's wearing a black t-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt," I told him.

"I'll see what I can do," he responded with a nod before hurrying away. I turned back around and saw that both Nora and George were giving me confused looks.

"I'll explain later," I said in a dismissive tone as I tried to calm Marti down. She just cried harder and held onto my tighter. George pulled Nora close and kissed the top of her head before he started whispering in her ear. We waited for five minutes, which felt like eternity, before Casey finally found us.

"Mom! George! I was so scared!" She cried as she reached out to hug them. We all pulled her into a huge group hug as Nora and George cried and held her tight. "I didn't think I was going to make it. I'm so glad to see you all." She looked around as her eyes widened. "Where's Derek?"

"He was with me," I spoke up before I flinched at the look in Casey's eyes. "We were in the library. The gunman came in. I tried talking him out of shooting people. He was about to shoot me…but Derek talked him out of it…and got shot instead." Tears instantly sprang to Casey's eyes as her mouth fell open so I quickly added, "But he's going to be all right. I think he is, anyway. He had a pulse when we last checked on him."

I felt bad about not telling them the whole truth, but if they found out, I knew they would definitely kick me out so I would have to find somewhere else to go, and I was comfortable right where I was. Matt came back with news: he told me that Noel was fine and he said that Derek was being transported to the hospital.

"All right umm, Casey you come with us to the hospital. Mackenzie, you take Lizzie, Marti, and Edwin back home," Nora told us.

"I don't have my license yet!" I pointed out.

"Ok then, Casey you drive them home and come back with us to the hospital while Mackenzie watches over the rest of the kids," George said impatiently. We rushed to get to Casey's car but it took a couple of minutes to get out because of the police that were around. A couple of times I had to shout at Casey to take a turn because she almost drove right past it. Right as we were all out of the car Casey backed out of the driveway and sped down the street.

"Smack, is Smerek going to be ok?" Marti asked as I walked her to the front door.

"Of course he is," I told her in, what I hoped, was an honest tone. Lizzie and Edwin crossed the threshold and immediately ran up the stairs to their rooms. Marti just went over and sat down on the couch as I closed and locked the door. "So…do you want to do something?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"I want Smerek!" Marti said as tears started to come to her eyes again.

"Smerek will be back soon, I promise," I told her as I sat down next to her on the couch and gently ruffled her hair. "How about we play with your stuffed animal friends?"

"I don't wanna," Marti sighed before slipping off of the couch and she, too, ran up the stairs. I sighed before lying down on the couch and closing my eyes. I didn't realize I ad fallen asleep until the ringing doorbell woke me up. Yawning, I stood and stretched before walking over to the door. Once I opened it I was practically knokced backwards by the force of Noel's hug.

"Noel, you can let go now," I said as I patted him on the back.

"When I didn't find you I thought you were…" he let his voice trail off as he took a step back and looked at me.

"Please, like I can go down without a fight," I said with a chuckle. He smiled a little bit but it faded as fast as it came. He stepped forward and, before I knew it, he was kissing me. And I was kissing him back. It felt so right, despite all that has happened today. I just needed to be held by him. "Wow," I muttered once he pulled away.

"Yeah…" Noel said with a little laugh. "Umm…do you still want to go to that concert? I'd understand if you don't want to, seeing what has happened."

"I need to do something fun. Chances are I won't be able to forget this," I said with a small sigh.

"Great. So, um, I'll meet you here and then we can go."

"Sounds like a plan," I said with a nod. "Now go, I don't want them to come back while you're still here. I'm not allowed to have friends over."

"All right. I'll see you later then." He kissed me once more before leaving. I closed the door and turned around to see Lizzie staring at me.

"Lizzie!" I cried out once I saw her. "Um...how long have you been standing there?"

"Since he asked if you still wanted to go to a concert," she responded as she moved over and sat down on the couch. "Don't worry, I won't tell Mom or George about this. I need to ask you something anyway."

"All right, what's up?" I asked as I sat down on the coffee table.

"I have a friend who has new step siblings too," she started. "And she likes a guy she shouldn't like and he likes her and they've been together for a month behind their family's backs. They don't want to keep their relationship hidden anymore but they're too afraid to tell their family. What should they do?"

"You mean," I said as a knowing smile formed on my face. "What should you and Edwin do?" Her eyes widened as her mouth fell open. "It's completely obvious that you two like each other, I'm surprised the rest of your family hasn't figured it out." I leaned back on my palms and gazed at her. "Well, it's you're not related by blood so you being together is ok in my book. It may not be ok to some other people, but that's their own opinion. If you guys like each other then you wouldn't care about what the other's think about you. Go right out and tell them…but I wouldn't advise that you do it now, seeing…" I let my voice trail off and she nodded.

"I understand," she said with a sigh. "You'll help us with this, right?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course, I support you guys one hundred percent," I said with a nod. "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask. I'm going to go to my room."

I stood and took the stairs two at a time. Once I reached the landing I heard music coming from Marti's room. I decided to leave her alone before walking into Casey's room and closing the door behind me. I flopped down on my bed, put my hands behind my head, and closed my eyes as I thought back to the incident.

-FLASHBACK-

"_It's time to end this game of Hide 'n' Seek," he said with a chuckle._

"_You killed all of these innocent people–" I started but he squeezed my arm tight, causing pain to shoot up my arm._

"_Just to get to you, Princess!" He said with a nod and a small laugh. "Now come quietly and we will get this whole mess figured out." He started to drag me towards the door and I tried to pull out of his grasp as best as I could but he only held on tighter._

"_Stop!" I turned around and cursed under my breath when Derek crawled out from under the table and stood. "Don't hurt her," he aid as he locked eyes with the ma who had me. "Please, don't hurt her."_

"_You idiot, do you want to die?" I demanded._

"_Don't hurt her," he repeated as the man laughed._

"_I can't believe it. A girl like you actually settled down and found yourself a boyfriend," the man said with a laugh. It stopped abruptly when he raised his gun and pointed it at Derek. "I hope you loved him."_

"_NO!" I shouted over the gunshot._

_Derek staggered back a step as a rose of blood blossomed on the front of his shirt. _

-END FLASHBACK-

The next couple of days everyone was in and out of the house to visit Derek in the hospital. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to go so I just sat around the house watching TV or reading because we had the rest of the week of school off for people to be able to cope with what happened. I went to the concert and actually had a lot of fun. I sang along to Green Day's songs and Noel seemed to be enjoying himself too, despite the shooting that was still in our minds.

He took me back to the house before too late. He gave me a soft kiss and a hug before he left and I promised to call him later. Once I closed the door and hung up my jacket I came face to face with Derek, which was what I didn't expect.

"Derek…y-you're out of the hospital," I said in shock before I moved forward to give him a hug but he backed out of my reach. I noticed that, for the first time since I've lived here, that he was really mad about something. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing really, besides the fact that I got shot in the chest and I was in the hospital for the past three days and my so called _friend_ didn't visit me once!" He responded as his eyes flashed in anger.

"I couldn't," I muttered as I brushed past him to go up the stairs.

"What do you mean you couldn't?" He repeated as he followed me up the stairs. "What, was it hard to find a ride, or do your feet not work, Princess?"

"Don't _ever_ call me that!" I hissed as I made a beeline for Casey's room. Derek grabbed my wrist and I almost cried out in pain as he yanked me into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. "Shit! Derek, let go!" I cried out as he held on tighter. He glared at me before he slowly slackened his grip, but he didn't let go. He rolled up the sleeve to my shirt and, before I could do anything, he held my wrist close to his face and ran a finger over my scars.

"You're such a wimp," he said as he chuckled and dropped my arm.

"What? No I'm not!" I snapped, despite the fact that my heart was racing over the fact that someone found out about my scars.

"Yes you are!" he shot back. "What's your reason for cutting? You want attention?"

"Shut up!" I growled.

"People expecting too much out of you?"

"I said shut up!"

"Or do you want to kill yourself before that man comes back and shoots us?"

"SHUT UP!" I roared as I shoved him so he fell back onto his bed. "You don't know _anything_ about me!" I spat as I jabbed him in the chest. "So who are you to judge me?"

"I judge them as I see them!" He shouted back as he got back to his feet and glared down at me. "And do you want to know how I see you?"

"Make my day!"

"I see you as a coward!" He said as he advanced towards me. I started backing up as he continued with his rant. "You're afraid to be accepted! You're afraid to fit in! You're afraid to let others help you and you're afraid to help others. You're afraid to confront your past and you're afraid to admit that people actually care about you enough for you to tell them what happened and why you ran away!"

"I'm not afraid," I finally got out.

"Oh really? So go downstairs and tell my family _everything_."

"Fine!" I pulled open his bedroom door, making sure to hit him on my way out. I jumped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen where George and Nora were sitting and talking quietly. "Hey, can I talk to you guys?" I asked, grabbing their attention. "The whole family I mean. I think you deserve to finally know about what happened all those years ago."

Without checking to see if they would follow me I walked into the living room and sat down on the coffee table. I waited for the whole Venturi-McDonald family to come into the living room. All eyes rested on me and I took a couple of deep breaths before I spoke.

"My family never treated me well. They neglected me and constantly put me down and I just couldn't take it anymore so I ran away. From then all the way up until now I went from home to home. I never stayed in one home longer than two months because there was always something about me that the other families didn't like. The last place I was at was…" I let my voice trail off as I took a shuddering breath and tears came to the corners of my eyes. I glanced at Derek and saw that he was staring at me intently and I knew I had to keep going.

"The last place I was at…was a place where every kid who lived there was beaten out of enjoyment and to see how long we could survive. I couldn't take living there any longer so I ran away. That's when Nora found me. Back when I lived there I had to keep in all the emotions that I was feeling because, if I showed them, it was a sign of weakness and they would beat me even more. So…I started to cut myself and it was a habit that I couldn't drop." I rolled up my sleeves and showed them my arms. I couldn't look at them, I had to finish this. "I actually do know the man that shot Derek and all of those other students. He was the one who run the Hurt House, as I like to call it. I've run away before but they caught me. He said if I ran away again he would kill me so I wouldn't tell anyone else what he was doing. _That's_ why he was at the school, to get to me."

Silence hit me like a ton of bricks and I didn't wait to see their reaction. I jumped up and raced up the stairs once more, so they wouldn't see the tears that were getting ready to fall down my face.

"I'm sorry."

I stopped abruptly and whirled around to face Derek.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are," I grumbled before I continued the rest of the way to Casey's rooms.

"I'm serious," he said as he followed me. "I really am. I just wanted you to trust us. We care about you."

"They might, but _you_ sure don't."

"I got shot for you!" Derek cried as he threw his hands into the air. "Doesn't that sow you how much I care?" I just rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. "Well, maybe this will show you." He placed his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me forward until our lips were touching. I expected him to be aggressive about it but he was being gentle. I started to pull away but…something inside me changed and I found myself pushing Derek back into his room…


	13. Back to Normal?

**Chapter Thirteen – Back to Normal?**

**-MACK'S POV-**

"Hey Smarti, whatcha doin'?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen. She was standing on a stool and was reach for something in the cabinet when I walked in. I rested my elbows on the counter as I glanced up at her.

"I'm trying to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich," she responded as she looked down at me. "But I can't reach the peanut butter."

"I'll get it. Hop down and get the bread, I want one too," I told her as I put her down on the ground. Before I let go of her I tickled her in the ribs and she burst out giggling and squirming in my arms. I reached up and got down the peanut butter as she came back to the table with the jar of jelly, a knife, a spoon, and some bread.

I could tell all ready that the Saturday would be a pretty boring one. Not that I wanted something like another shooting happening, but, to me, it was too peaceful. I found out last night that the owner of the Hurt House, whose name was released as Lucas Henderson, was sent to jail so I was more relaxed than usual.

"I love peanut butter and jelly," Marti informed me before she took a bite of hers.

"Oh really? Why's that?" I asked before following her lead and taking a bite out of mine.

"Because the jelly is purple and purple is my favorite color."

"Really? Purple's my favorite color too." I licked jelly off of my thumb and froze before an evil smile slipped onto my face. A plat was hatching in my mind and I only had about five minutes to get it done before Derek came back. "Smarti, do you want to know what jelly is good for?"

"Eating?" She asked as she looked at me.

"Besides that."

"Ummm…" I just grinned at her as she placed a finger on her chin and continued to think.

"Prank time!" I announced as I grabbed the jar of jelly. "Marti, grab a spoon and follow me!" I made my way out of the kitchen and started up the stairs when I heard Marti following me. We looked around before slipping into Derek's room. "Oh god! I need a gas mask!" I cried out once we closed the bedroom door. I grabbed a pair of his shoes and unscrewed the cap of the jelly jar. "Spoon," I said as I held out my hand.

"I don't think we should do this," Marti said, holding the spoon tight in her fist.

"Marti, Derek would be proud that you're taking on the Venturi gene of pulling practical jokes," I said as I looked at her. "Trust me, he won't be mad."

"Ok!" Marti agreed before handing over the spoon. I scooped out a huge glob of jelly and dumped it into the shoe. We emptied half of the jar before we quickly left the room. We went back into the kitchen and put everything up, right as Casey came in.

"Hey guys," she said with a big grin on her face, which only meant one thing…

"No!" I said before she could continue with what she was going to say.

"Oh come on! I just need your help deciding on one small thing."

I rolled my eyes as I let out a big sigh. Casey has been bothering about me going to the mall with her to help her pick out something Max would like for their anniversary, which was the next day.

"Case, the last time I went to the mall with you, we were there until closing time. And I was _this_ close to hitting you over the head with a mannequin that was in the store," I told her as I showed her how close I was to snapping with my finger and thumb.

"Please? Please? Please?" She asked as she clasped her hands together.

"What's going on?" Lizzie asked as she and Edwin came into the kitchen. I glanced over at them and I saw Lizzie shuffled nervously but I kept my mouth shut so Casey answered her.

"We're going to the mall, you want to come?" She asked with an expectant smile on her face.

"Depends, what would I do while I'm waiting?" Edwin questioned as he went over to the cabinet to get a cookie from the jar.

"Carry our shopping bags of course!"

"Then count me out!" He put the jar back in the cabinet and turned around as he took a bite of the cookie. "I'll see you when you get back. "

"I'll come with you, Case. I wan to get something myself," Lizzie told her. She turned and gave me a sharp look. I glanced back and forth between Casey and Lizzie, suddenly realizing how they were related. They had the same look on their faces and they were standing the exact same way: hands on hips and head slightly tilted. There was no way I was going to be able to get out of this one.

"Fine," I sighed heavily before standing. "Hey Smarti, I'll play with you later, all right?"

"I'll get your costume ready!" She said in excitement before running out of the kitchen. I slipped on my shoes before following Casey and Lizzie out the door after Casey left a note. Lizzie and I were quiet the entire time as Casey talked rapidly about Max's present.

We knew that Casey was a shopoholic, but she practically killed us that day. She spent the first two hours buy us and herself clothes, mainly clothes that we didn't want, but she didn't listen to us. I don't know why we tried talking to her when she was on one of her powertrips. Then she spent twenty minutes searching for the right shade of lipstick for herself. Lizzie and I took refuge in a gaming store as we waited for her to finish.

"If I have to go into another store I think I'm going to scream," I muttered as I held my face in my hands. "How can you stand living with her? All she does is make you do things for her. She's like…a female Derek."

"Don't let her hear you say that," Lizzie said with a laugh before taking a sip of the milkshake that was sitting on the table. "So…how are you feeling?" I glanced up at her and I must've had a confused look on my face because she continued. "You disappeared right after you told us about…you know. And you were unusually quiet this morning and then you were all lively once the afternoon rolled around."

"I'm just…confused," I said as I let out the breath that I was holding. "There's like…this whole mess of emotions that are swimming around in my head and I can't sort one out from the other. I'm angry at myself for letting all of this happen, I'm sad about all of those innocent people to dying because of me, I'm annoyed at myself for cracking under the pressure your family put on me, I'm relieved that I don't have to keep my secrets anymore, and I'm also very confused."

"You can't feel all that at one time, it's too much stress," Lizzie said as she mess with the straw. "I know, how do you think I felt before I told you about Ed and I?" She quickly stopped talking when Casey came up with a couple of shopping bags on her arms. "I thought we only came so you could get something for Max!"

"But I found the cutest outfits in some of the stores that I passed and I couldn't just pass by without getting them!" She responded with a bright smile. My eye twitched when I saw all of the pink that was in the bags and I could tell that Lizzie had the same thing on her mind that was on mine: there was no way in _hell_ we'd wear that.

Casey then took us to a jewelry store where we spent the next forty minutes trying to get Casey to decide on something. She was stuck between giving Max a necklace with a C and M initial pendants or, what I like to call a man-ring, which was a silver band with their names on it in small black ink.

"Thanks for coming with me, guys," Casey said brightly as we walked back to the car.

"No problem," I said as I got into the passenger side.

"Ok, now I definitely know something's wrong with you," Casey said as she pulled out of the parking lot. "You usually spend a good half hour complaining to me about why you shouldn't come with me to the mall. And today you came hardly with an argument."

"I just have a lot of things on my mind," I responded as I rested my head on my palm. I could feel her gaze on me so I finally blurted out, "I'm thinking about breaking up with Noel."

"What!?" Both Lizzie and Casey cried out. "Why?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Truth be told I didn't understand much of anything anymore, not after Derek and I…I pushed the thought from my head and gave it a little shake to make sure it stayed out of my mind. It was so late that, by the time we entered the house, we had to sit down to dinner.

"What were you shopping for?" George asked once we sat down.

"Girl stuff," Casey told him as she accepted the plate of rolls that Nora handed her.

"It's no wonder you took so long," Derek commented. "It will take pounds of make up to cover up that hideous face." He and Edwin burst out laughing as they high fived. Casey glared as George shot him a warning look.

"Would you like to borrow my foundation sometime? Maybe that will stop the mirror in the bathroom from breaking because you'll look semi presentable," Casey shot back. Lizzie and I stifled our laughter by holding our hands in front of our mouths.

"I look more presentable than you do, even after your daily fall in the caf, Klutzilla."

"Derek!" George said in a stern warning tone.

"I _must_ be more presentable than you seeing as I have a steady boyfriend. The girls you 'date' are probably wondering what they saw in you? It couldn't have taken them long to peel off your fake face."

"Casey!" Nora gasped.

"You're calling it a crime that I'm so irresistible that girls throw themselves at me?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow and a triumphant glint in his eyes.

"You see, Derek, they only threw themselves at you because they missed the window that they were trying to throw themselves out of. They ran into you on accident." The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them, which caused everyone to look over at my as I shifted under their gaze.

"Then tell me why they always come back," he shot back as he folded his hands, waiting for my response.

"You sucked all the knowledge out of them, which didn't do you any good seeing as it leaked out of your head." When he didn't say anything I lowered my head and started to lift my fork to my mouth when I felt something mushy hit my head. I jerked my head up as Derek started cracking up. I quickly reached up and pulled down a glob of mashed potatoes. Without another word I dove for the huge bowl, knocking over Casey's cup of grape juice in the process. She quickly pushed back her chair but the juice landed on her skirt, which caused Derek to laugh harder as Edwin and Marti joined in. Angrily, Casey grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and it hit Derek smack dab in the face. Derek flicked back a handful of creamed corn which, obviously, ended up in us having a food fight while Nora and George tried to get us to stop.

I hope this meant things were getting back to normal, but everything was far from normal.

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**A/N: I personally thought Derek's and Casey's arguments was a load of crap but I left it anyway. Please leave a review. And in your review I need you to vote for who should end up with who: Dasey (Derek/Casey) Masey (Max/Casey) Derek/Mack or Noel/Mack. Also I'll make a couple of the chapters focus more on the family scene since I rarely write about them.**


	14. All the WRONG Reasons

**Chapter Fourteen – All the WRONG Reasons**

_**-NORMAL POV-**_

"Derek, aren't you even going to help us?" Lizzie asked as she handed the wet dish over to Casey who started to dry it.

"I _am_ helping," he said from the chair he was sitting in. "I'm helping by telling you all how to wash and how to dry." He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table as he placed his hands behind his head and smirked at them.

"He's only saying that because he doesn't know _how_ to wash dishes," Casey told her. Lizzie smiled before handing Casey another plate to dry. Edwin was putting soap on some of the plates, Marti and Mack were scrubbing them, Lizzie rinsed them, and Casey dried them. They've been doing that for the past thirty minutes and, to them, it felt like the stack hadn't gotten any shorter. The fact that Derek kept giving them orders wasn't helping much either.

"Hey Ed, that plate needs a little bit more soap," Derek said as he pointed at the plate that was in Edwin's hands.

"Why don't you do it then, Derek?" Edwin questioned as he turned to face his brother. Derek just raised his eyebrow and gave Edwin a look before he turned back to the sink and put more soap on the plates, cups, and bowls.

"That's what I thought," Derek said with a satisfied smile as he rocked back and forth in his chair. He almost went tipping backwards when a sponge hit him in the face and the _smack_ seemed to echo in the kitchen. Derek put the chair on all fours as he grabbed the sponge and looked at them all who looked back at him with guilty faces. "All right. Who hit me?" He asked as he stood and crossed his arms over his chest. Casey, Lizzie, Mack, Marti, and Edwin all looked at each other before pointing fingers. "You have three seconds," he said in a dangerous voice. "One–"

They all ran out of the kitchen before Derek chased after them. Marti and Lizzie were screaming as they tried to get away from him. They all dashed into the Game's Closet and, to keep Derek out, they all held onto the doorknob so he wouldn't be able to pull it open.

"This is pathetic!" Casey said as she shook her head. "We're hiding. From Derek. In a _closet_."

"Would you rather be mauled by him or hide in a closet where it's safe and somewhat cramped?" Edwin asked as he struggled to hold the door shut. On the other side Derek's muffled voice shouted at them that they had less than five seconds to open the door.

"Oh come on. Derek just needs some talking to," Casey told them. "Derek may be a total barbarian but he's not _that_ uncivilized." They all turned to look at her with an incredulous look on her face. "Ok, he's totally uncivilized," she said with a sigh before a smile came to her face. "Ok, to get out of the closet we give him Marti. He can never be mad at her and while she talks to him we can run away."

"You're going to sacrifice a little kid? I don't think so," Mack said as she shook her head. "It's too dangerous," she added in a serious tone which made Lizzie laugh a little. They were quiet and suspicious when they didn't hear anything on the other side of the door.

"We can leave, I think he's gone," Casey said as she started to let go of the door. Mack stopped her with a look.

"Don't bet on it. He's probably waiting to jump us when we leave." Casey and Mack looked at each other. "Edwin, you go check if it's safe."

"What!? Why me?" He asked as he looked at the two teens.

"Because you're a man–"

"Hardly," Lizzie interrupted.

"–and you can stand up to Derek."

"Yeah…and get crushed by him when he goes on a rampage!"

"EDWIN!"

"All right. All right." He was about to let go of the door when George's muffled voice came in.

"Ok guys, come on out." The kids in the closet looked at each other before slowly sticking their heads out of the closet. When they saw that George was actually standing there, with a bored looking Derek, they scrambled out. "Derek has volunteered to do the rest of the dishes so you guys are off the hook."

"YES!" Lizzie and Edwin shouted before running off to play video games in the den.

"What are you guys? Six? Hiding in a closet!" Derek said with a laugh as Casey passed him. She moved to elbow him but he dodged her so she only managed to hit her funny bone on the wall.

"Smack, let's play Fairyland," Marti said as she tugged on Mack's hand.

"Which reminds me," George added. "Mackenzie, your boyfriend is downstairs."

"I could hardly call Noel my boyfriend," Mack muttered. "Is he in the den?"

"Yeah, Lover Boy is in the den waiting for you to break up with him," Derek said with a smirk as Mack turned around to face him.

"How did you–"

"When there's a secret around here it doesn't stay a secret for too long."

Derek followed Mack closely as she bounded down the stairs and walked into the living room. She greeted Noel with a hug and allowed him to kiss her on the cheek. Derek rolled his eyes before lumbering into the kitchen.

"What're you doing here so late?" She asked as she looked at him in confusion.

"I dropped by to give you your birthday present," he responded as he held out a wrapped present to her. A genuinely confused look came onto her face as she accepted the present. "What?" He asked when he saw the look. "You forget your own birthday or something?"

"Or something," Mack responded before ripping off the paper. "Cool, a jewelry box. It would be useful if I ever wore jewelry."

"You don't like it?" Noel asked, sadness seeping into his voice. "I could always take it back and get you something else."

"No, no," Mack said with a little laugh. "I'll keep it. It was really sweet of you. Thanks." She gave him a hug and glared at Derek who was watching intently, drying the same plate he was drying for the past five minutes.

"Before I go I wanted to talk to you about something." He twisted his hands as he rocked back and forth on his feet slightly. "My parents…kinda…want to meet you."

"Your parents?" She repeated. "I don't know…"

"Please? They want to meet the person who made me…branch out, I guess," he mumbled as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Well, I'm kind of _grounded_ at the time."

"How can you be grounded if they're not even your parents?" Mack gave him a scathing look so he quickly brought up his hands in defense. "I take it back," he said quickly. "Well…maybe we can come over here? That way they can get to know your…family?"

"I'm going to have to talk to George and Nora about it first, but I'm sure they'll agree to it," Mack responded.

"You're the best! I'll talk to you tomorrow, all right?" Noel moved to kiss her but he jerked back when the crash from a plate falling out of Derek's hands stopped him. He just gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Mack immediately rounded on Derek, blue eyes flashing in annoyance.

"God Derek, do you _have_ to be so immature?" She demanded as she crossed her arms.

"Yes," he responded instantly as he put the plate down on the table. "Did it ever occur to you that PDA is not what everyone wants to see?"

"I could say the same to you, but I'm not going to bother because I know it won't be able to process in your mind," Mack said dryly.

"What happened to your break up plan?" Derek asked as he leaned against the kitchen table.

"You mean _your_ break up plan?" She demanded as she stood in front of him. "I don't know _why_ I almost went through with it. He seems to care about me. _He_ actually got me a birthday present."

"I told you I forgot and I'm sorry," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Man, you women are so emotional when it comes to something that's _no big deal_."

"Derek Easter is no big deal. St. Patrick's Day is no big deal. But when you forget someone's _birthday_, then it's a big deal!" She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh and started talking more to herself than to him. "I don't know why I'm doing this to him. He doesn't deserve it."

"_I've_ known you longer," Derek pointed out. "You met Noel only about two…three months ago. And you barley know anything about the guy." He paused and added, "You _ know_ why you have to break up with him."

"Nothing's wrong with me Derek," Mack hissed. "Nothing happened between us."

"You can honestly lie to my face and say that nothing happened?" He asked as he stood at his full height

"Yes," she responded without blinking. "I learned it from you. And I'm not lying when I say nothing happened between us and nothing _will_ happen between us!"

"Fine! Just wait a couple of months and we'll see who's right!" he shouted after her as she stomped up the stairs.

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**A/N: Hmmm…I didn't really like this, but it's still important to the story. Oh yeah, readers, if you like this story please recommend it to other people. I would like some more feedback about this. You know the drill, R&R.**


	15. Breakdown, I Can't Take This

**Chapter Fifteen – Breakdown, I Can't Take This**

_**-NORMAL POV-**_

"Casey." Derek shook Casey's shoulder and waited for a reaction from her. All he got was a soft snore as a response. "Casey!" he hissed as he shook her once more. She groaned and rolled over as he stood over her and crossed his arms. Grumbling he walked back into his room before coming back into Casey's with electric guitar and an amp in his hands. He plugged in the amplifier and turned it on before plugging in the guitar. He found a chord and muttered, "I'm sorry for doing this." He struck the chord, causing Casey to wake up and fall to the floor with a scream. Derek burst out laughing as Casey got up on her knees and glared at him.

"Der-_ek_!" She hissed in annoyance. She reached over and looked at the glowing numbers on her alarm clock. "Derek, it's 3 o'clock in the morning! And what are you doing in my room?"

"I can't believe I'm going to say this," he said as he put his guitar down. "I n-need to…t-t-talk to…you," he finally got out as he made a face of pain.

"Well well well," Casey said with a smirk as she crossed her arms. "The Might Derek needs help from his step-sister."

"Hey, I never said I needed help," he said as he raised his hands. "I just said I needed to talk to you." Casey kept the knowing smirk on her face as she watched Derek's expression change from defense to annoyance. "Ok, I need your help," he finally admitted.

"I knew it!" Casey said in triumph before sitting down on her bed crossed legged. "Ok, what do you want to talk about?"

"Something I did," Derek responded.

"Well that's very specific," Casey said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. "Derek, you do a lot of things that are worth talking about. Like spitting milk back into the carton. That's disgusting! And giving Edwin wet willies. Grotesque. And–"

"I get it!" Derek interrupted her. "If you don't want to help me I can just go to Lizzie."

"No!" Casey stopped him by grabbing his arm. "I'm sorry. I'll listen to what you have to say." She stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He just stared back at her, occasionally clearing his throat or licking his lips. "You know, the only way people can talk is if the other person actually _says_ something," she commented after a couple of seconds of their staring contest.

"Sorry," Derek grumbled. "Ok, say…I was with this girl–"

"I don't see how this is hypothetical if you're _always_ with a girl," Casey interrupted. Derek gave her a scathing look. "Sorry, I'll shut up."

"That's impossible for you," Derek said with a smirk before continuing. "I have this friend. Say this friend was with this girl…but the girl had a boyfriend. And–"

"Derek, are you…sorry, I'll stop now." Casey gave him a convincing grin as Derek stared at her in suspicion.

"Like I was saying. Say she had a boyfriend and they…kinda got together behind his back and…something happened." Derek twisted his hands nervously as he bit his bottom lip.

"What do you mean something happened?" Casey asked, trying to prompt him.

"Well…my friend and the girl they've been dating behind the boyfriend's back right?" Casey nodded, urging Derek to continue. "They've kissed a lot. And it…escalated from there…so to speak."

"Are you saying that your 'friend' and the girl…" she let her voice trail off as Derek nodded slowly. Casey's eyes widened before she grabbed her pillow and started hitting him over the head. "You. Are. The. Most. Insensitive. _Jerk_. I. Ever. _Met!_" She cried as she hit him.

"Casey! Stop!" Derek cried before pulling the pillow out of her grip. "Why're you _hitting_ me? I never did anything!"

"Except for…doing things with Mack!" Casey spat as she glared at him.

"I was never talking about her," Derek said as he made sure her pillow was out of her reach.

"Derek, the whole 'I have this friend' story is really old. Everytime someone tells that story it's actually about themselves! I'm not stupid!" Casey slapped the back of his head. She paused before adding, "So _that's_ why she was going to break up with Noel! Because you two are going out behind his back!"

"We're not going out," Derek told her. She raised an eyebrow so he muttered lamely, "We're just…really close."

Casey just laughed as she shook her head. She couldn't believe anything he was saying. At first, when she came back, he hated her and they always fought. And then they became friends again. To her it was weird seeing Derek with a friend that was a girl and he thought nothing of her. Too weird. Even though she finally figured out that she was right she felt…hurt by it for some reason. When Derek turned his attention to Mack and barley pranked her or called her names she felt somewhat alone and a little bit jealous.

"This isn't funny, Case," Derek said in a desperate tone, which was really unlike him. What got Casey to stop wasn't the fact that he was desperate but it was the fact that he called her 'Case'. He's never called her that before and it made her feel…accepted. "I have this feeling that she's…positive. And I want to take her to a doctor, but she won't go."

"Well…we're just going to have to make her," Casey said with a sigh as she stood.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked as he also stood.

"What I mean is we're going to get her checked out. If she isn't positive then we can put this behind us and then you, Mack, and Noel can sit down and talk this whole thing out," Casey responded.

"And if she is positive?" Derek asked, afraid to know the answer.

"We'll cross that stream once if we get to it," Casey finally said as she walked over to her closet. "Go wake up Mack I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes." When she didn't hear him leave she turned to look at him in curiosity. "What?" She asked when she noticed him hesitating.

"Thanks," was all he said before he left the room. Casey blinked in shock, at him thanking her. She smiled a little before she continued looking for clothes to throw on. She quietly left her room and made her way down the stairs. She quietly walked into the kitchen and grabbed the keys before going back into the living room, just in time to see Derek coming down the stairs with Mack over his shoulder.

"I told you to wake her up! Not hold her hostage!" Casey hissed.

"_You_ try getting this lump of fat out of her bed!" Derek shot back as he put Mack down on the ground.

"You told her!?" Mack hissed before slapping him on the arm. "I told you _nothing_ _happened_!"

"Mack, we have to make sure," Casey said as he messed with the keys that were in her hand. Both Derek and Casey gave her a look and she glanced back and forth between them. She let out a huge sigh before walking towards the front door, the two step-siblings following close behind, and making sure they closed the door as quietly as they could. Casey and Derek sat in the front as Mack lay down in the back. The car ride to the hospital was silent and it got on Casey's nerves but she didn't say anything.

"I don't want to be here," Mack said barley above a whisper once they set foot inside the Hospital.

"We drove all the way out here to make sure. We are _not_ going back now!" Derek told her before they all sat down.

"I don't want to know, then."

"Too bad because you're going to find out. I have to make sure that I'm not going to get in trouble. Or worse, end up dead."

As Derek and Mack started fighting Casey just looked around the Hospital as thoughts slammed into her brain. _'I don't know what's wrong with me. Lately I've been jealous of Mack and why? Because she has Derek's attention. I can't even stand Derek so why am I so jealous that they're…together but not together?'_

"Hey Spacey." Derek's voice interrupted Casey's thoughts as she turned to look at him. He and Mack were standing with the doctor. "Come on, Space Case. The doctor wants to talk to us too."

Casey nodded before following them to an empty room. Mack sat down on the bed while Derek and Casey sat in chairs. Besides the doctor moving around the only movement was Mack's legs swinging back and forth as she watched the doctor move around. The doctor finally turned around and asked, "Do you want him in here? Or would you like for him to wait outside?"

"You know what," Derek said slowly as he stood. A queasy look was on his face. "I'm just going to…wait outside."

"Ok then," the doctor said before looking down at her clipboard. "Ms. Montgomery, I see that you're here to check if you're pregnant." Mack just nodded, unable to find anything to say. "I'm going to have to ask you a couple of questions first if that's all right." She nodded again, waiting for the doctor to ask the questions. The doctor asked a couple of questions that Mack hesitated to answer but reassuring glances from Casey helped her get through it. It was the last question that the doctor had asked that got to her the most.

"When you had sexual intercourse…were you on the pill?" The doctor asked.

"N-no," Mack responded barley above a whisper. "I-I didn't plan on it. It just…happened."

"I see…and…was your partner using a condom?"

Casey studied Mack's face as her lips parted slightly in a look of fear. Her breath started to come out shaky as her eyes widened. Casey rushed to her side and started talking to her soothingly as she tried to get her breath back as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

"I don't…I don't think…" she couldn't get the words out of her mouth. The doctor just scribbled something on her clipboard once more.

"Ok, I'm going to need you to come with me for a couple of minutes to take a test and then we'll come back with your results," the doctor said as Mack got off of the bed and followed her into the hall. Casey sighed and lied back as the door opened and Derek came in.

"So? What'd the doctor say?" he asked as he sat down next to Casey and clasped his hands in his lap.

"They're making her take a test now," she responded as she closed her eyes. "We'll be able to tell in a few minutes."

Derek groaned before he too lied back on the bed. He covered his face with his hands as he shook his head. "Man…if she just hadn't changed and became so hot this never would've happened."

"You can't stop people from changing," Casey commented. "Like you. You may not know it, but you've changed ever since Mack moved in. You've become a _little bit_ more tolerable." Derek didn't say anything. He just smirked a little as they stared up at the ceiling. "Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Say she is pregnant…what're you going to do? Will you keep the baby? Would you want her to keep it."

"I've been thinking about that," Derek said slowly. "I don't think I'd be able to get over killing a kid so…I want to keep it."

"Why?" Casey asked as she felt her heart sink a little.

"If I didn't keep it, it would be like…killing Smarti, you know? I would never be able to forgive myself and I wouldn't be able to live with knowing I was responsible for the death of a kid."

"I understand." Casey turned so she faced him. "I'll help you guys. Lizzie will too. We can make this work."

"Thanks Case."

Silence stretched on between them as they waited for Mack to come back. Derek and Casey were starting to nod off when the door slowly opened and Mack slipped in. The two got up off of the bed instantly and rushed over to her side.

"Well?" They asked in unison.

"I'm pregnant," she announced.

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**A/N: Ok, so I finally decided the pairings. This will be a Casey/Derek/Mack/Noel story. So basically it's a combined love triangle: Derek likes Casey and Mack and Mack in turn likes both Derek and Noel. I know this will be complicated for me to do but I **_**will**_** do it! Anyway, R&R.**


	16. Not so sweet Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen – Not-so-sweet Sixteen**

_**-NORMAL POV-**_

"Der-ek! Why aren't you dressed yet? They're going to be here any minute!" George said as he walked into his son's room. Derek quickly shoved a book behind his pillow before looking up at his dad with a confused look on his face.

"What're you talking about?" Derek asked as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. He yawned before letting his head fall back onto his pillow as George looked at him in disbelief. Derek's eyes were closed for a couple of seconds before he shot awake. "That stupid dinner party is _tonight_?"

"Yes and you_ know_ how important this is to Mackenzie so I want to see you downstairs and dressed in five minutes!" George said before he closed the door behind himself. Derek groaned in frustration as he held his balled his up to his eyes. _'I didn't get any sleep last night, I drove to the hospital at three this morning, was woken up by Marti, did chores all day, and the only time I was close to getting to sleep I have to wake up and go to a stupid party for Mack and her stupid boyfriend who doesn't even know one single thing about her!'_ As those thoughts ran through his head he changed his clothes into something more formal before opening his bedroom door.

"Whoa, did a bomb go off in there? You look horrible!" Casey commented once Derek stepped out into the hallway.

"I would say something back but I'm not awake so my mean genes aren't working properly," Derek said with a yawn as he blinked and looked at her.

"Your eyes are so red. Did you sleep at all?" Casey asked as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bathroom. He sat down on the side of the tub as he rubbed his eyes and yawned some more. "Hold still, I have to put this on."

"What're you doing?" Derek asked as he jumped to his feet and backed away from her, instantly alert.

"I'm trying to hide the redness of your eyes, it's unattractive" Casey responded as she rolled her eyes. "Kind of like the rest of you."

"Really?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow. "Then why is it that Mack's carrying my kid?"

"You took advantage of her?" Casey asked, bitterness seeping into her voice as she held the brush close to Derek's face. She backed away from him when he saw the look of fury on his face.

"Look, I may not be considerate, I may not be sensitive, and I may not be lame, like you and the rest of the MacDonald family," Derek started. "But I would _never_ take advantage of her like that. Believe it or not I really care about her."

"Derek, can you really do this to Noel?" Casey asked in a slightly shaky voice.

"Noel doesn't care about her like I do!"

"Are you sure about that?" Derek stayed silent as Casey studied her. "Can you really, truly, honestly tell me that Noel doesn't care about her? Have you _seen_ the things he buys her? The way he talks to her? The way he looks at her?"

"I try not to notice," Derek said in a tight voice. "Look, I've known her longer so I care more. Case closed."

"Ok, so I'm guessing _you're_ going to tell Noel that you're dating his girlfriend _and_ you got her pregnant."

"Smerek got someone pregnant?" Marti asked as she walked into the bathroom. She made a face and asked, "What does pregnant mean?"

"We're just kidding, Smarti," Derek said with a laugh. "It's…part of a scene for our Drama class," he quickly lied. Casey made a face at him as Marti's back was turned.

"Really?" She asked as she turned to look at Casey. When she did, Derek gave back a 'what-else-could-I-say?' look as he brought up his hands.

"Really, Marti," Casey responded. Marti turned back around and looked at Derek's hands. She gave him a double low-five and smiled up at him.

"Oh yeah, Snow and his family are here," she added before she skipped out of the bathroom.

"Snow?" Derek repeated.

"She means Noel," Casey said with a sigh. "Come on."

Derek and Casey left the bathroom and made their way down the stairs right as Noel hugged Mack. Derek squeezed his hands into fists and plastered on a fake nonchalant smile as Casey greeted Noel with a hug.

"Casey, Derek, this is my little sister Nicole," Noel said as he placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "Nicole, this is Casey MacDonald and Derek Venturi. They were in that pirate play with me."

"You were that pirate wrapping guy," Nicole said as Derek laughed.

"Rapper," Noel corrected her. "Nicole, why don't you go see if you can find Marti and go play until dinner starts, all right?"

"Okie dokie," she said before she skipped off.

"Mom, Dad, Casey and Derek," Noel said as he motioned to them.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Casey gushed as she shook hands with Mr. and Mrs. Covington.

"It's nice to meet you too," Mrs. Covington said with the same smile on her face. "And you have a lovely home."

"You can thank me for that," Derek jumped in. "This is my place. Casey, her sister Lizzie, and her mother Nora moved in here when Nora married my dad. And I can honestly say this place has never been the same." He flashed a smile as they all gave him an incredulous look.

"Der, I need to talk to you for a second," Casey said as she literally shoved Derek out of the living room.

"Sure Case," Derek said in the same tone.

"I'll just…go see if they need any help with anything," Mack said with a small wave before quickly following them out of the kitchen.

"I'll just…go," Noel said as he backed out of the living room.

"Please, sit. The kids will be back in any second," Nora said as she and George motioned for Noel's parents to sit down.

"What was that?" Casey hissed as she smacked Derek on the arm. "'And I can honestly say this place has never been the same.' This isn't helping matters, Derek!"

"I panicked!" Derek said as he held his arm. "What do you want me to do? Shut up and smile?" He plastered a smile on his face.

"That's creepy," Mack commented as she made a face. "You guys are acting really suspicious, you know that? Why don't we just paint the truth on my forehead and get it over with?"

"The truth about what?" Lizzie asked as she and Edwin came into the kitchen. When no one answered she repeated her question. "The truth about what?"

"Nothing," Casey, Derek, and Mack responded in unison.

"What're you guys hiding?" Edwin asked as he studied their faces.

"Nothing," the three responded in unison once more. Derek looked guilty, Mack looked nervous, and Casey was…starting to freak out. She reached out her hand as she used her other hand to help control her breathing. Once she got a paper bag in her hands she started breathing into it rapidly.

"Why is Casey breathing into a paper bag?" Noel asked as he walked into the kitchen. "And why're you guys so jumpy?" He looked around and noticed that they all had nervous looks on their faces. "What's going on here?"

"Uhhh…" they all said in unison as they looked back and forth between each other.

"What're you doing?" Nicole asked as she and Marti ran into the kitchen.

"Are you working on that scene for your play again?" Marti asked. Derek's and Casey's eyes got about two times bigger as Noel's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What play is she talking about?" He asked them.

"The one for your school, silly."

"Now where would she get that idea? Seeing as we aren't going to have a play this semester." Noel noticed that no one of them were making eye contact with him. He crossed his arms as a concerned and an annoyed look crossed his features. "Someone tell me what she's talking about."

"They rehearsing for a part in a play," Marti explained. "Where Smerek got a girl pregnant."

"See, Lizzie?" Edwin said as he shook his head. "I told you that had to be it. I mean, there is no way that Derek could've gotten Mack pregnant."

"EDWIN!" Derek, Mack, and Casey shouted at him.

"What?" He asked as he held up his hands and backed away from them in fear. "What did I say?"

"Mack, are you pregnant?" Noel asked in a scary calm voice. She looked around at everyone as she nervously bit her bottom lip. When she finally met Noel's gaze she slowly nodded. "I can't believe this," he muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. When he looked back up his eyes were flashing in anger. "I thought something was up, but I let it slide thinking that it was that time of month. But hearing this…I don't think…I just…" Noel stopped talking as he pulled a box out of his pocket. "Happy fucking birthday!" he spat as he threw the box at them and then turned on his heel and stomped out.

"Noel! Wait!" Mack cried as she chased after him. The door slammed shut, which caused Derek and Casey to wince. Both sets of parents came into the kitchen with questioning looks on their faces, which rivaled the shocked looks on Lizzie's and Edwin's faces and the confused ones of Marti's and Nicole's.

"Derek, what's going on?" George asked as he glared at his son, who's eyes were shifting nervously.

"Well…" Derek said slowly. But he was interrupted by a shrill scream, a screech of tires, and the sound of something solid colliding with a car, and then all was silent…

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**A/N: Ok, so I'm still having trouble deciding on the pairing so I put a poll for it in my profile (if it worked, hopefully it did.) You have a couple of outcomes to choose from and I REALLY want you to think about it. Don't pick one just because you like the couple. For example, don't choose Dasey just because you love it and you've never given the other choices some thought. THINK IT OVER! R&R!**


	17. Torn

**Chapter Seventeen – Torn**

"I don't understand. Lizzie, why are we here?" Marti asked as she looked around the hospital before looking up at Lizzie.

"One of our friends got hurt," Lizzie said as she turned to look at the little kid. "But everything will be fine." She added when she saw the scared look on Marti's face. "I promise."

"I want to make a Get Better Fast card but I never had time to get the materials," Marti said as she swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the chair. "Can you help me make one?"

"A little later, ok Marti?" Marti nodded and left to sit with George and Nora as Lizzie sighed and shook her head. "I can't keep doing this, Ed," she said as she turned to look at Edwin. "I can't keep this a secret from our family."

"It's not like I got you pregnant or anything," Edwin told her. "Just a little bit longer, this way we know what we're going to say to them and we can predict how they will react."

"But what if it slips out before we get a chance to rehearse what we tell them?" Lizzie asked as she wiped a tear that was falling down her face. "They'll be mad. Edwin, they might split up! And I don't want that to happen!"

"It _won't_ happen, Liz. We'll make this work, I promise. Just give it a little bit more time."

"I _can't_ give it more time, Edwin!" Lizzie said as she stood and faced him as she placed her hands on her hips. "It's either we tell them or that's it!" She spun on her heel and stomped down the hall, not giving it a single thought where she was going. She eventually found herself in a hallway where Casey, Derek, and Noel were sitting, staring in the window at Mack's still figure. She had a bandage wrapped around her head along with cuts and bruises on her face and her arms. "What'd the doctor say?"

"She has a concussion," Casey spoke up when Derek and Noel stayed quiet. "She also has a fractured wrist. The doctors say she'll wake up sometime soon and then they will run some tests."

"And the baby?" Lizzie noticed that Derek and Noel both flinched when as she asked that question.

"Just fine, although it's hard to tell seeing as the baby feeds off of what she eats and since she's in this state…" Casey let her voice trail off as Lizzie nodded in understanding.

"There's something else," Lizzie said as she watched her sister's facial expressions. "What is it? You know you can tell me."

"I know." Casey lowered her head and bit her lip before looking up once more. "There's a good chance that…she could slip into a coma. If she does…she would have a 25-75 chance of surviving. And if she _does_ survive, she would be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life."

"Oh," was all Lizzie said as she sat down and rested her head on Casey's shoulder, taking her hand.

_**-MACK'S POV-**_

I groaned as I sat up and held my head. Stars were in my eyes as I blinked and tried to look around. But I couldn't see anything. Darkness had me surrounded and my breath came out shuddered. I could see my breath float out of my mouth and suddenly cold wrapped its fingers around me in a touch grip. I shivered as I stood and looked around, rubbing my cold arms.

"G-Guys?" I whispered. My voice echoed throughout the darkness and I flinched, suddenly knowing that I was alone. "Where are you?"

A faint noise caught my attention. It was a noise I knew to well. It was a slap, either to a head or to a cheek. I touched my cheek lightly as I remembered all of those times…

Can't he see I'm afraid of him?

Can't he see I hate him?

No.

He can't see because he's blinded by anger.

Anger towards me for some unknown reason.

I started to walk…somewhere, as I rubbed my cold arms. Crying entered my ears. The sound echoed around me as I turned around trying to find out where it came from. I started running in one direction as the crying got louder and louder. I squeezed my eyes shut and blocked my ears but the sound invaded it. Suddenly light appeared in front of me as two people came into my view.

I looked closer and saw who it was and gasped.

It was me.

And _him._

I was on the ground holding my red cheek as _he_ stared down at me. I was whimpering as I tried to back away. And then, I was actually there, lying on the ground. My cheek suddenly hurt as I brought my hand up to it. I looked around to see the other me, but she was gone. I looked up and saw that his eyes were filled with hatred as his fists were clenched at his sides.

"Why do you hate me?" I asked softly as I backed away. He grabbed my ankle and dragged me back as he brought down a belt to my side with a loud _crack! _I screamed as I twisted to the side and tried to get away. I was pulled back once more, but this time more roughly. Cold seeped into my body and I looked down to see that my shirt had disappeared. From the way dad dragged me, a scratch opened on my side and blood started to drip out.

I closed my eyes at the pain and at the _crack_ sound as the whip rained down on my body. I squirmed but _he_ held onto my ankle tight as _he_ continued to hit me. Tears came out of my closed eyelids as I bit my lip to keep from screaming out loud.

I had to get away from the pain.

I just had to.

But I knew I wouldn't.

I _never _get away.

I felt _his_ grip on my ankle tighten and I curled up into a ball, squeezing my eyes shut tighter. _'Please go away! Please go away! Please! Please! Please!'_ My wish never came true when I felt intense pain on my hip. I swear, if I didn't scream so loud, I would've heard it shatter. I opened my eyes and saw that _he_ was raising a baseball bat over his head before he brought it smashing down on my hip again.

_He_ hit me again and again, over my back and down me legs. _He_ hit me the hardest in my head. I was biting down on my lip one time when _he_ smashed me and I bit right into it, making it bleed. _He_ rolled me over onto my back and started to hit my ribs. I could only curl in pain but _he_ held me so I wouldn't roll. I had to experience this pain all over again. I thought I was away from it.

The pain suddenly stopped and all was quiet.

I opened my eyes and saw that I was sitting down at the kitchen table at my old house. I was wearing a different shirt then before and I felt faint traces of pain, but not as much as I felt before. I stared down at the spaghetti that was in front of me and looked back up at _him_.

"What? Are you not hungry?" _He_ asked innocently as he lifted a forkful of spaghetti to his mouth. I just stared at him. _'What's going on here? Where am I? I wanna go home! I WANNA GO HOME!'_

"You are home," _he_ said as if he were voicing my thoughts. Had he heard me? It's so hard to tell sometimes. "Now eat your dinner!" I just sat there staring at the plate before my face scrunched up. I grabbed the plate and threw it at the wall above his head.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? WHERE'S EVERUONE? WHERE IS MY FAMILY? I WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO GO HOME!"I shouted as I slammed my palms onto the table and stood facing him.

"Sit down, Mackenzie," _he _my dad said firmly.

"NO! TAKE ME HOME! I WANT TO GO HOME!" I shouted again.

"YOU ARE HOME! NOW _SIT DOWN!_" _He_ yelled back at me.

"_NO!_"

_He_ grabbed his plate and threw it at me. I didn't have time to move as it hit me in the head and cracked. I screamed as I fell back and hit my head on the floor. I scrambled to my feet and started to run and I could hear his footsteps after me. I reached the stairs when _he_ grabbed my ankle so I went falling forward and smashed my head against the stairs. _He_ straddled my waist as he grabbed a hunk of my hair in his fist and repeatedly smashed my forehead into the stairs.

"Ouch! OW! STOP IT! IT HURTS!" I screamed as I felt blood drip down my face and I felt myself grow weaker and weaker.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" _He_ yelled at me as he pulled my arm back forcefully. I screamed as I felt something tear into my flesh and I felt blood drip down my palm. My shirt was suddenly ripped from my back and I felt something sharp get pressed into my back before it plunged into my skin as I screamed louder and louder. He traced the blade across my skin as he spelled something on my back. I cried harder and harder as I felt blood drip down it and never ending tears fell down my face.

"…_mack_…"

I lifted my head as I heard someone say my name.

It sounded exactly like Noel.

"…_mack_…" it said again.

It was Noel.

"…_honey, wake up_…"

"What?" I whispered.

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!" _He _yelled as he slammed my forehead into the stairs again.

"…_mack, wake up_…"

Wake up…

I closed my eyes and I felt the pain slowly fade away, but I felt random throbs. I gasped as I felt air rush into my lungs and I felt my chest rise and fall as I tried to get my breathing back to normal. I felt sweat drip down my forehead, but I still wouldn't open my eyes.

"Wake up." I forced my eyes open and bolted up right as I gasped for air. I glanced around and saw that I was in an unfamiliar room. Noel was standing by my side and smiling as he gently ran his hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face. "Did you sleep well, honey?" he asked.

"Er…" I grunted as I rubbed my head, which felt like I slammed it against a brick wall. I stopped rubbing my head when I heard pounding footsteps and the next thing I knew two seven-year-olds were jumping up and down on the bed. I just watched them as Noel laughed softly.

"All right, stop jumping on Mom's legs," Noel said as he caught the girl in the air and the boy landed on the bed cross legged.

'_Mom_!?' I looked at the boy who was sitting at me grinning. He had shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes. He had a small smirk on his face as he rested his chin in his hands, his elbows were resting on his knees. I glanced over at the girl and saw that she had shoulder length brown hair with black undertones. She, like the boy, had bright blue eyes and a smirk on her face. The boy looked like a mini version of Derek and Danni looked like a girl version of him.

"Devin, Danni, go eat your cereal like you're supposed to while I talk to your mother, ok?" Noel said as he put the girl down.

"Ok, Daddy," the two chirped before running out of the room. I just stared at the empty doorway as Noel sat down on the bed by my side and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Are you all right?" He asked as he looked over at me. "You seem shaken up."

"Just…a nightmare," I responded as I turned to look at him. "I'm ok, really."

"If you're sure," he said before kissing the side of my head and standing. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Yeah…" I looked around the room, taking everyone in as my head pounded. I finally got myself out of bed and pulled on jeans and a black t-shirt over a light blue long sleeved shirt. I took one more look around before I slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where Devin and Danni were fighting over the milk.

"Mommy, can we go to the park today?" Danni asked when she saw me.

"Dan, you _know_ that you have to stay in the house," Noel answered for me.

"Whyyyy? We see Uncle Derek, Uncle Matt, and Aunt Casey all of the time!" Devin whined as he made a face. "Uncle Derek practically _lives_ here! It's not like he's going to miss us!"

"Dev, you have to stay," Noel said sternly. "Maybe Uncle Derek can take you to the park later." I squinted when I saw a look of…something behind Noel's eyes. I was going to question him but the doorbell rang.

I walked back out of the kitchen and walked over to the front door. Right as I pulled it open someone gave me a big hug. Once he pulled away I relaxed when I saw that it was Matt. His green eyes were brighter than I remembered and that's when I noticed Casey holding his hand.

"Hey, how are you?" Casey asked before she gave me a hug.

"Umm…great?" It was more of a question. "Umm…how are you?"

"Great," Casey responded as her usual cheerful self.

"UNCLE MATT! AUNT CASEY!" Devin and Danni shouted in unison as they ran over to the two. I stood staring, trying to wrap my head around what was going on when the doorbell rang again. I opened the door and felt a kick in my stomach when I saw Derek standing on the doorstep.

"Hey," was all he said as he nodded at me before stepping over the threshold. I didn't respond as I closed the door behind him.

"Great! You're all here!" Noel said happily as he stepped into the living room. "Do you want to join us for breakfast?"

"Yeah! Aunt Casey, I have a lot to tell you about my dance class," Danni said excitedly as the twins pulled the two into the kitchen.

"I need to talk to you," Derek said as he grabbed my arm. "And _please_ just listen this time."

"Derek," I started.

"I really miss you," he interrupted. "I can't…I don't like you being married to him."

"You had your chance," I hissed as I pulled my arm away.

"I know I blew it, but I want to give it another try." He let out a breath before continuing. "How long are you going to lie to Devin and Danni? You _know_ they're not Noel's kids."

"Even if they aren't by blood they are by law and by heart!" I shot back as I backed away from him, shaking my head. "You did this Derek, you drove me away, you made this happen. This is _your_ fault!"

"No," he whispered.

"It _is_!" I insisted.

"Are you happy?" He blurted out. His question caused me to stop and look at him.

"What're you talking about? Of course I'm happy."

"Liar," he stated as he walked closer. "I know you, very well, don't forget that we grew up together. I can tell when you lie. Wanna know how? Your eye twitches slightly, so slightly not everyone would be able to pick it up," he said as he reached out his hand and lightly touched the corner of my right eye. I parted my lips to start to tell him off but his kiss crushed the words. I tried to fight it, but I could feel myself getting lost in the kiss as my eyes slid shut.

When I opened them I was back in the Venturi house. I sat up on the couch and rubbed my head as I glanced around in confusion. It was waaaaay too quiet in the house, which was usually full of chaos.

"Hey babe," Derek greeted me as he bounded down the stairs and sat down in His chair. "How're you feeling? You were sleeping for quiet a while. If I didn't know any better I would've said you overdosed on something."

"Glad to know you're sensitive," I grumbled as I continued to rub my head as he turned on a hockey game.

"Mommy? Daddy? Are you two fighting again? Are you going to get a divorce?" I practically choked when Danni ran over to Derek and he pulled her onto his lap.

"Danni, we're not getting divorced," Derek told her as she snuggled close to him. "And we don't fight, we have little misunderstandings."

"You sure?" She asked as she yawned.

"Yes, I'm sure," he responded as he watched the girl quickly drift into sleep. Derek looked up at me when he noticed that I was staring. "What?"

"Nothing," I responded as I shook my head.

"You were staring at me, and you usually never do that unless you want something. And the last time you stared at me we wound up being teenage parents to these two," he said as he motioned to the sleeping girl in his arms, a somewhat cocky grin was on his face. "So, do you really want to–"

"Don't make me beat you up, Venturi," I spat before leaning back.

"You're a Venturi now, you know."

"Shut up!"

"Now is that _any way_ to treat your husband?" I sat up and glared at him as he smirked back. "Now what's bothering you? I can always annoy you until you tell or you can tell me now and save me the trouble."

"…you don't want to know," I responded as I lay back down, only to hit my head on the arm rest of the couch and everything went black.

_I've shown you your future…choose Noel and you'll be living a lie. Choose Derek and you'll be with the wrong one…_

"Who to choose…."

------------

**A/N: So, I made this chapter long for my reviewers because you rock. Please recommend this to others if you like it. Also, I would like it if you guys would check out my other LWD fic called Derek Venturi, if you don't all ready. R&R!**


	18. Weak

**Chapter Eighteen – Weak**

_**-NOEL'S POV-**_

"How's her pulse?" One doctor asked.

"Steady...no change," the other doctor responded, scribbling on a clipboard.

"…Has she regained consciousness?"

"No. Her signs are the same."

"Ok…keep me posted."

"I will."

I sighed, once again, as the words floated out of the doctor's mouth and into my ears. I lost count about how long I've been here, the days all seemed to blend into each other as I sat staring at my…well, I didn't know what to refer to her as anymore. She obviously wasn't my girlfriend anymore but I still knew enough about her to call her my friend. I really didn't know if I would be able to continue being around her if she woke up…

When she woke up.

"Noel." I looked over at Marti as she sat down in the chair next to me.

"Yes Marti, what is it?" I asked as I forced a smile. Marti was my favorite of the Venturis, but only because she was innocent and cute and reminded me of my own little sister.

"She's going to be ok, right?" She asked me as she looked at me with big eyes. "She's going to wake up and then she's going to come back home with us and everything will go back to normal."

"Of course she's going to wake up," I said as I ruffled Marti's hair. I really wanted to believe her, but I just couldn't. Things wouldn't be normal if she survived this. She would forever be battling in her head whether or not to be with Derek or me. I didn't want to put her through the stress, but I had to know if my love for her was for nothing.

"When will she wake up?" Marti pressed.

"It's hard to say," I responded. "She could wake up today, tomorrow, next week, a month, or a year. A coma is a tricky thing. People can wake up in a matter of days while some other people wake up in a matter of years. It all depends on how strong the person is."

"Back Mack is strong," Marti said as she wiped her tear-stained cheeks. "She made sure Smerek and Smasey were safe during the shooting at your school. She made sure she always had time for Edwin, Lizzie, and me. She likes you a lot and isn't' afraid to admit it. She always put everyone before herself and made sure she had time for everyone. If that's not strong, then I don't know what is."

I stared at her in shock and amazement. I didn't know that Marti looked up to Mack that much. From what I saw Marti was a kid who loved to get attention and I sometimes thought that the only person she thought about was herself. She really put me in my place.

"Hey kids." Marti and I both looked up to see a doctor looking back at us. "If you want to visit her, you can now. You can talk to her, there's a good chance that she can hear you, she might even respond to you. If she moves or if anything happens come and get one of us. But only two people are allowed in here at one time."

"Ok." The doctor left as I stood and stretched. "Marti, could you go and get Derek for me?" I asked without looking at her.

"Ok," she responded as she also slid off of her seat. "Don't hurt Smerek," she added.

"I won't, I just want to talk to him," I told her. "And besides, do I look like I could hurt someone?" I smiled down at her and gave her a little shove to get her going. I entered the room and gently closed the door behind me.

"Hey Mack. It's me," I said in a small voice as I sat in a chair next to her bed and gently rubbed her cheek with a finger. I stared at her face and could've sworn I saw her eyebrows slowly move back into its normal position as if she were relaxing. "I can't take this anymore," I whispered. "Not knowing whether or not you'll wake up." I let out a shuddering breath as I continued. "Here I am crying. Derek really does deserve you; he's stronger than I am. I'm weak compared to him."

"You're not weak." I turned my head to see Derek closing the door behind him. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he joined me at my side. "You're not weak," he repeated.

"Aren't I?" I demanded as I glared at him.

"No," he responded. "Because you can easily let people know what you're feeling, how you're thinking." He paused and added, "You think I want to be a dad?"

"_You're_ the one who–" I started, shocked by how harsh my voice was.

"It was a _mistake_, ok? I didn't _mean_ for this to happen, any of this."

"Derek," I said in a surprisingly calm tone. "You could have _any_ girl at our school. _Any_ of them. The one girl I actually care a lot about…you had to take her away from me." I glared at my hand as I lowered it and grasped Mack's still hand. "Do you like watching people get hurt in the process of you living your life?"

"I don't go around living my life to hurt people, Noel, at least not on purpose," he shot back.

"What about Casey?" The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Many times Mack has come to me saying how you always play tricks on her, sometimes as a harmless prank, but other times to ruin her chances at making friends or meeting new people in the process. If anyone is the weak one around here, it has to be you, because you can't seem to be able to grow up!"

Derek and I glared at each other and I was the first one to turn my gaze. I felt my features soften as I stared at Mack's face, waiting for her to show any sign of her being able to wake up. "I'm here. Don't worry. I'll always be here with you." He rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb and I could feel Derek burning holes in the side of my head with his eyes.

Derek nudged me and I looked up at him before he nodded over to the heart monitor, a look of confusion was in his eyes. I looked over at the heart monitor as the beeps increased, then went back to its normal pace. Confused, I glanced at Mack and felt my eyes widened. Her crystal clear blue eyes were staring back at me. But they seemed to be filled with immense sadness.

"N-n-Noel…" she said softly, as if it pained her to say my name.

I desperately wanted to run to the door and scream at everyone that she was awake. But something made me stay with her. Not bothering to move an inch. I leaned forward, trying to hear what her weak voice was trying to say to me.

"I-I'm sorry…I can't go on…"

"No! Don't say that!" Tears now fell from my eyes as he held the girl's hand. Derek tensed before he also dropped down by her side.

"Derek, I can't-" she whispered.

"No! You'll get better! Please. Don't go! Stay with me!" I interrupted her as I held her hand tighter. Derek didn't say anything but pain flashed through his eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

"No! No! No! Don't go! You can't go!"

"I…" Mack's voice got weaker and weaker with every breath she struggled to take. "I love you…both…and I want you…to know that. And…to not forget me."

"I won't!" I sobbed as I squeezed her hand tighter, as if letting go would make her disappear.

"Mack," Derek whispered.

The beeps on the heart monitor began to slow down. Mack's eyes slowly closed as she let out one more shuddering breath. The beeps turned into one low sound.

"No! Come back! Don't leave me!" I was now calling out her name frantically. Derek then ran to the door and started to call for a nurse. Two nurses and a doctor came rushing in with defibrillator.

"Get the kid out of here!" The doctor ordered.

A nurse walked up to me and tried to get me to leave the room. I stood rooted to the spot and fought back when the nurse tried to take my arm and lead me away from the doctors. I kept screaming Mack's name.

Over.

And over.

And over.

The doctor pressed the electric paddles on Mack.

Once…

Twice…

Three times…


	19. Matthew

**Chapter 19 – Matthew**

**-MATT'S POV-**

I finally put down my pen and finally leaned back against my chair, letting my aching muscles relax and my burning eyes rest behind my closed eye lids. Everything around me was still as I took deep breaths as I tried to fight the fatigue that was trying to wash over me. I couldn't sleep, I had to go and visit her.

I put the card in an envelope, gathered the bouquet that was sitting on the table, and started to lave the house. I left a note on the table so everyone would know where I was before I set out. I got into the car and sat behind the wheel for a good five minutes trying to decide if I should wait for someone to take me to the hospital. I just turned sixteen and that definitely wasn't long enough for me to have gotten my license. I shook my head and turned on the car, sealing my fate.

I slowly backed the car out of the driveway and began to make my drive to the hospital. I didn't turn on the radio in fear of hearing a song that would send me over the edge and cause me to break down. I held the wheel in a trembling grip the entire time and it took all I had to let go by the time I reached the hospital.

"Hi, I would like to know what room Mackenzie Montgomery is in," I said to the receptionist once I got her attention.

"Are you family?" She asked as she peered at me through her glasses.

"Yes ma'am," I said politely with a nod. "She's my twin sister." I waited patiently as she gave me a suspicious stare before letting out a heavy sigh. "If you want proof I'll be happy to take a blood test. I just really want to see her."

After a few minutes of convincing her that I was family, and signing some papers, I was finally allowed to see Mack. I hesitated before entering her room. She was sitting upright as a doctor talked to her. I cleared my throat which caused the doctor and my sister to look over at me.

"Matt," she said in weak, hoarse tone as she smiled at me. The doctor gave me a questioning look which she caught so she said to him, "He's my brother. My twin to be exact. Can we be alone?"

"Ms. Montgomery you know I need to stay in here to make sure nothing happens," the doctor said in a gentle yet stern tone.

"You can look in through the window incase something happens," she persisted as she weakly pointed towards the door. The doctor gave her a look and I nodded at him, letting him know that it would be all right if the left. Once the door closed behind the doctor Mack started speaking. "Where have you been? You haven't contacted me since the shooting? How did you find me? Is Max ok? How–"

"You're going to loose your voice if you don't stop talking," I interrupted her with a laugh as I put her flowers in a vase and placed the card on the bedside table. I pulled up a chair and sat down as I peered into her face. "You know none of this would have happened if you had just stayed like I told you to."

"And get killed there? No thanks, I'd rather be hit by a car," Mack responded. "And look, I got my wish."

"I'm surprised you survived this long," I said as I shook my head. "How'd you find the Venturis anyway?"

"They found me, actually," she responded. I waited for her to take a couple of breaths before she continued. "I was on the bus when their mom found me and offered me to stay at their place. The last time I was at the Venturi place their mother was Abby, not Nora. I guess she and George split up."

"Now, what's going on with you and Derek?" I asked as I stared intently at her face. Her eyebrows knitted together as if I asked her a confusing question.

"I don't…know," she responded in a hoarse whisper.

"Waddya mean you don't know?" I asked in exasperation. "Are you with him or not? I got some info from the burses, you're pregnant with his kids." I paused, waiting to see if she would say anything. "Are you really _that_ stupid?" I demanded as I narrowed my eyes at her. "You know what we have to do! We're in the middle of a mission and you go and get yourself knocked up!"

"Don't talk about him like that," she spat in a hoarse whisper. "And I didn't get knocked up. I'm carrying his kids, sure, but you're acting like I asked for it."

"So he raped you?"

"No!" She said with a half groan half frustrated growl. "I know…I put our lives on the line. But…"

"But what?" I asked, urging her to continue.

"He told me…he loved me," she continued in a whisper. "That's all I ever wanted out of this life, Matt. I wanted to be loved, and now that I am you're making it seem like it's a bad thing."

"It _is_ a bad thing! He's blinded you to what we were supposed to be doing! You won't be able to do as much as before, especially when it starts to show." I paused as I let out a frustrated sigh. "What happened to that Noel guy, anyway? I thought _he_ was your boyfriend. I approved of _him_ at least."

"It's complicated," she said as her eyes shifted to the window. I turned around and noticed that the doctor was speaking to that Casey girl I met back at the school.

"How is it complicated?" I asked as I rubbed my burning eyes.

"You wouldn't understand."

"So get me to understand."

"Derek, I've known forever. He has my back, makes me laugh, he also cares about me…in a twisted kind of way. Noel, he's sweet, thoughtful, and sensitive. I can also go to him whenever I need to talk. I've always liked Derek, I admit that now, and dating Noel helped me get my mind off of him. I eventually developed feelings for him, which overpowered the ones I had for Derek. But when Derek took that bullet for me…my feelings shifted."

"So do you want to be with Derek or Noel?"

"I can't choose," she said as she shook her head. "Either way I'd be making the wrong choice." She paused and let out a breath before continuing. "When I was in the coma had this…vision I guess you could say. Two different ones. In the first one I was married to Noel and had the kids, Devin and Danni. Casey was married to you, surprisingly, and Derek wasn't married to anyone. In this vision I wole up married to Noel and he was telling me that you, Casey, and Derek were coming over. After that happened you guys showed up and Derek tried to talk to me about getting together. I was mad at him, saying he all ready had his chance, and he kissed me. Then the vision switched to me being married to him and we had Devin and Danni. At the end a voice in my head said if I chose Noel I'd be living a lie and if I chose Derek I'd be making the wrong choice."

I just whistled when I heard. I could tell that she was having a really hard time choosing which one to be with. I didn't even need to see her face to feel the mixture of emotions that was surging throughout her body.

"So tell me, how's Max?" She asked after a moment's silence. I hesitated as I looked at her. That was the one question I was dreading to answer. I bit my lip as I averted my gaze and tried to look anywhere but at her. I couldn't look at her, I couldn't admit it… "Matthew, tell me! How's Max?"

"I don't…" I started but no sound would come out of my mouth. I sighed before letting it all out, "I don't know."

"Waddya mean you don't know? She was with you, right?" Mack demanded.

I shook my head before saying slowly, "She's not with me…she was taken a few months ago…"

"No! Not Max!" Mack said as tears came to her eyes.

I lowered my head and let a tear fall.


	20. No Secrets, Only Lies

**A/N: Ok, the poll is officially closed and the official pairings are….DASEY and NOELxOC. Thanks for all those who voted and the outcome is great because now I have an idea for a sequel to this story. Yes I said a sequel, but it's not going to come out for a while but you get to look forward to it. Sorry this chapter isn't as long as the others.**

**-----------------**

**Chapter 20 – No Secrets, Only Lies**

"I thought the doctors said you had to stay in bed," Matt commented once he opened the door to his sister's room and saw her tying her shoes.

"You know that I don't do well with following the rules," Mack said with a laugh as she dropped off of the bed and stretched. "Also, I think I've been here long enough. And they wouldn't even let me leave this room at all."

"They didn't want you to die if you left early," Matt said with a shrug. "You know how much they'd be sued if you keeled over?"

"I see _you're_ worried about my health," Mack said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Matt grinned at her and held out his arms before she went rushing into them and gave him a big hug. "I missed you so much," she muttered against his neck.

"I missed you too," he responded. "I wont' leave this time, I promise I'll stay with you?"

"You have to be crazy if you think you're going to stay at my place. There's barley enough room for the Venturis and the McDonalds let alone me."

"I can find a place to stay, don't worry about me," he said his expression suddenly turning hard. "We have to worry about the task at hand."

"Which one? Me being pregnant or us finding Max?"

"Both," Matt responded as he wrapped his arms around his sister's shoulders and led her out of the room. They stopped to talk to three different doctors to make them believe that Mack was well enough to leave the hospital. Matt made sure they had the information to contact her incase something else happened before they were finally able to leave.

"This is the one thing that I'm dreading," Mack grumbled as Matt parked his car in the Venturi/McDonald driveway.

"You don't expect me to leave you here by yourself do you?" Matt asked with a smile as he took her hand. Right as the two stepped through the doorway they were met by the whole Venturo/McDonald family. Nora was carrying a cake with WELCOME BACK on it in purple frosting. A banner was also hung over the entrance to the kitchen with the words WELCOME BACK written in the same shade of purple as the frosting.

"Smack, you're back!" Marti cried as she ran into Mack's arms. "I missed you. Are you all better now?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine now," Mack responded as she picked Marti up and held her against her waist.

"You weren't fine to begin with, you were always a little cracked in the head," Derek commented with a smirk.

"You aren't so bright yourself, sunshine!" She shot back, which caused them all to laugh.

"Blow out the candles," Edwin said as he motioned to the cake.

"Do I have to make a wish too?" Mack asked.

"YES!" They all responded in unison. Mack spent a good minute with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Will you hurry up?" Matt asked with a laugh.

"Well, I don't need to make a wish now that I think of it," Mack said slowly. "I mean, all I ever wanted was to live with a family who liked me for me and I have that."

"That's so sweet I think I got a cavity," Edwin said. He burst out laughing at his own joke as everyone looked at him strangely.

"So, um, who exactly are you again?" George asked as he turned to Matt.

"Matthew Montgomery, sir," he said as he shook George's hand. "I'm Mack's twin brother, older by five minutes."

"Did you have to bring age into this?" Mack asked in an angry tone although a flicker was behind her eyes as they all gathered in the kitchen to get a piece of the cake.

"I thought you were an only child," Casey commented before taking a bite of the cake. Mack pulled her fork out of her mouth and she turned to look at Matt as she chewed. He gave her a shrug as she swallowed.

"I never said I was," Mack told her. "I jut never mentioned them. They were part of my past and I wanted to forget it but it figures that Matt would end up finding me again." He just shrugged and smiled.

"I've known you for a while and I don't ever remember seeing your brother," Derek said with a mouth full of cake.

"That's because he stayed with my Aunt and Uncle a few neighborhoods away and he went to a different school."

"If you ran away, how come you never went to your Aunt's and Uncle's place then?" Nora asked.

"Because I knew they would just send me back home," Mack replied. "And that was something I didn't want to do so I just kept moving around making sure that no one would be able to find me. I didn't expect to find my way back here. That was just a coincidence."

"But we're all really glad you decided to stay here with us," Lizzie said with a smile. "Which remindes me, I found this after we came back from the hospital," she said as she held out her hand, a small box was sitting on it. "I think it was the present that Noel gave you."

"Thanks Liz," Mack mumbled as she accepted the gift. "If you'll excuse me," she added before turning and leaving the kitchen at a fast walk. She ran up the stairs two at a time and they heard a door close.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to go," Matt said as he put down his plate. "It was great seeing you guys again."

"Do you need a ride back to your place?" Nora asked.

"No, I have it covered. I'm staying at a friend's place. Tell Mack if she needs anything to not hesitate to call me," Matt responded with a smile. "Oh and Derek, Casey, see you in school," he added before turning around and leaving the house.

"I wonder if Mack'll want to play," Marti said before racing to the stairs.

"Marti, let Mack have some time to rest," George said as he grabbed his daughter by the hood of her purple hooded vest. "She also may want some time alone."

"Not like that's possible in this house with the privacy problem," Casey commented as she turned and glared at Derek.

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about," Derek said in fake innocence as he smiled in Casey's direction. She made a face before turning and walking up the stairs she opened the door to her room and was met with Mack signaling her to be quiet as she talked into her cell. She was about to close the door but Lizzie slipped in before she could and the two started to find seats around the room.

"Ok, see you in school…bye," Mack said as she hung up her phone.

"Who were you talking to? Noel? Have you two made up?" Lizzie asked as she sat down and smiled at Mack expectantly.

"Mhm," Mack said with a nod. "He was surprisingly understanding of the whole thing. I swear I don't deserve someone like him, not after everything that's happened and after everything I've kept from you guys."

"Don't say that, you totally deserve Noel," Casey said as she lightly smacked Mack on the arm. "You need someone to take your I-don't-care-about-anything demeanor and turn you into the I-love-to-have-fun girl you can be."

"Wow…that sounded totally strange," Mack said before the three girls burst out laughing. A nagging thought entered Mack's head but she shoved it out, thanking God that she was well enough to be out of the hospital. Down the hall Derek rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath before slamming the door shut.


	21. Don’t Wanna Think About You

**Chapter 21 – Don't Wanna Think About You**

"Hey, how're you feeling? Do you feel sick? Like you're going to pass out? Or maybe you're tired? Are you hungry? I read that pregnant women have cravings and I also read it's usually for chocolate so I got a lot of chocolate for you. Let's seee, I have chocolate lollypops, chocolate candy bars, chocolate candy, chocolate muffins, chocolate–" Noel rambled as he followed Mack down the hall.

"Noel, you're making it painstakingly obvious about my condition!" Mack said through clenched teeth.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm just worried."

"_You're_ not the one who's going to end up fat so I don't see what _you're_ complaining about."

"Sorry," he apologized again.

"And _stop_ apologizing."

"Sor-"

"Watch it." Noel gave goofy grin as Mack tried to fight the smile that was coming to her face. Once it showed Noel stepped forward and gave her a hug. "I hate it when you do that, it makes it hard for me to be mad at you."

"That's why I do it," he said before giving her forehead a light flick.

"So it _is_ true then," Emily cried out as she rushed over. Noel and Mack gave her a confused look. "You and Noel together again. Casey told me but I didn't want to believe it." She dropped her voice before adding, "And is it also true? About you being pregnant with Derek's kid?"

"Ummm…yeah," Mack responded as Noel shuffled in embarrassment by her side. "But don't tell anyone, please Em. I want to deal with this by myself. I don't want the whole school to find out."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed," she said as she made the motion of zipping up her lips. "Ooh, I saw the cutest baby clothes at the mall. Maybe I should go get it after school."

"No, Em, I don't think–" Mack started but Emily all ready rushed off. "Greeeat. Just greeeeat."

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Noel said in a reassuring tone. "Listen, I have to get to class, but can we meet at lunch? I want to talk to you about something."

"Sure, I'll see you then," she said with a nod as Noel kissed her cheek. "Later." She continued down the hall to her locker and stopped to greet a couple of students that stopped her to ask about some homework. Once she got to her locker she made it there at the same time as Matt. "Hey, how're you doing?" She asked as she hugged her brother.

"Great," he responded. "This school is pretty cool. I'm thinking of going out for the hockey team."

"The hockey team?" Mack repeated. "I don't think you should do that, why don't you go out for football?"

"Why don't you want me to join the hockey team?" Matt asked as he crossed his arms. "Does it have anything to do with Derek?"

"Derek?" Mack asked as she gave an expert look of innocence. "Derek who?" She questioned before turning to open her locker door.

"Derek Venturi," Matt responded. "Your best friend." He looked around before whispering, "The father to your baby."

"I don't know any Derek Venturi," she said as she closed her locker door. Matt studied her face and saw anger behind her eyes, which she tried to cover up instantly. "The only Venturis I know are George, Marti, and Edwin." She made her way down the hall and Matt followed close behind her.

"What's goin' on between you two?" Matt asked as they entered their classroom.

"Nothing," Mack hissed as the two sat down. "And that's the _last_ thing I want to hear about Derek, ok? I don't want to talk or hear about him ever again! I don't even want to _see_ him ever again!"

"That isn't really an option if you _live_ at his house."

"Shut up, Matt."

It was hard ignoring Derek throughout the day only because some of the girls Mack would talk to asked her questions about him constantly and she swore she was about to loose her mind when it was time for lunch. She ran into Derek on her way there, literally. He gave her an annoyed look that made her want to just kill him, but she wasn't in the mood to being sent to jail early so she ignored it as she got to her feet and rushed to find Noel.

"Hey, what're you up to?" She asked as she dropped down in a chair at the table Noel was sitting at as he looked up from the notebook he was taping his pen against.

"Oh just…writing something for English class," he responded as he closed the notebook.

"Ok, so what'd you want to talk about?" Mack asked as he held out a bag of chips to her and she took some.

"Well…you're going to be showing soon," Noel started hesitantly. "And you're going to need a proper place to stay, a place without constant noise so you can rest and so the baby can grow healthy."

"What're you getting at?" Mack asked as she stared at him in suspicion.

"Well…I think you should move in with my family and I."


	22. Caught!

**Chapter 22 – Caught!**

_**MACK'S POV**_

"You want me to _what_?" I asked as I stared at him in disbelief.

"I want you to move in with me and my family," he repeated. "Like I said you need a place that's quiet to raise the baby properly. Living in a house like the Venturi/McDonald place isn't an ideal place for the baby to grow up."

"Can we not worry about this right now?" I asked as I held my head up with my cheek, suddenly feeling very tired.

"We have to talk about this, Mack."

"If there's any place I _should_ stay to raise the baby would be at the McDonald place because, well, I trust them. Not that I don't trust you, but I don't know your family that well."

"Are you sure this has nothing to do with Derek?"

"No," I responded through clenched teeth. "This has _nothing_ to do with him at all!"

"Sorry," he apologized quickly. "I was just asking."

"More like you were making sure I don't have any feelings for him, which I don't. I can't stand him so you should be happy for that." I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. "I'll think about it, ok? Maybe that's what I need, some time away from them."

"As long as you think about it," Noel said with a small smile. "So, are we going to go to that planned parenting thing?"

"Yeah, like I'm really going to go to one of those stupid feel-good groups," I said with a scoff. "But you can come with me to my next doctor's appointment. Nora and George are coming with me too, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you come."

"I figured they'd make Derek go, seeing as this whole thing is his fault."

"Not so much," I admitted. "But he's being forced to come too and I would appreciate it if you two _tried_ to get along."

"Shouldn't you be telling that to yourself?" Noel asked with a laugh.

"Shut up," I said with a laugh as I lightly hit him on the arm. "Oh, I have to go before I'm late."

"Poetry Club?" Noel guessed.

"Detention," I responded. "It's amazing that I actually look forward to detention."

"Yeah, it really is."

--------------

"Hey Smarti, whatcha watchin'?" I asked as I hung up my coat and dropped down on the couch next to her.

"Cartoons," she responded without taking her eyes off of the screen. "Do you like cartoons, Smack?"

"Oh, I love them!" I responded with a laugh. "My favorite is kinda old but it's still good. Ever heard of Tom and Jerry?"

"No, what's that?" Marti asked. I laughed at her excitement over cartoons.

"It's about a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. Jerry is really smart and he can outwit Tom. The entire time Tom is trying to get rid of Jerry but his plans always backfire in his face."

"That sounds cool!"

"Hey Mack, do you want to kick the ball around?" Lizzie asked as she motioned to her soccer ball. She suddenly flushed and added, "I-I mean, if you can. I don't want to cause you any trouble or anything."

"Liz, I'm pretty sure I can still play soccer," I said with a laugh. "Just let me go change my clothes and I'll meet you outside, all right?"

"Ok."

I chuckled as I made my way up the stairs. I yawned and stretched as I tried to fight the feeling of fatigue when I noticed that Casey's door was closed. I immediately pushed it open and scoffed at what I saw before stepping forward and closing the door behind me. "You have to be more careful, Casey, or you'll wind up in the same boat I'm in."

"Err…" was all Casey said as she wiped her mouth, a guilty look was on her face as Derek ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh, and you might want to remind Derek to keep his 'little friend' in his pants unless you want to give your parents another reason to be disappointed in Derek." Before they could say anything I grabbed a change of clothes and left the room. I changed in the bathroom and left my clothes in the hamper before bounding down the stairs and meeting Lizzie.

"What took you?" She asked as she kneed the ball before kicking it my way.

"Oh, I just gave Derek and Casey a piece of my mind," I responded vaguely as I trapped the ball. I did a pendulum with it for a couple of seconds before kicking the ball back to her.

"What about?" Lizzie asked as she trapped the ball once more.

"Derek's 'friend'," I responded as she placed her foot on the ball and looked up at me, a questioning look in her eyes. "How should I put this?"

"Derek and Casey were making out?"

"That about sums it up," I said with a nod. I paused before asking, "You're ok with that?"

"I must be if I'm with Ed," she responded with a shrug. "And I saw it coming for a while, to tell you the truth. I mean, it was obvious. Ever since we moved in Derek has been playing tricks. I mean, he's done that for a while, but they're mainly for _her_. And you can't tell me you haven't noticed the way they look at each other once they're one-upped the other." She paused before asking. "Is that why you've been so moody lately? Because of them being…together?"

"That wasn't the first time that I've caught them," I admitted as she kicked the ball my way. I jumped and grabbed it before it flew over my head.

"But is that why you and Derek had a fall out? I thought you were over him, I mean, you're with Noel now."

"I _am_ over him, Liz. It's just…I never was able to accept whenever Derek had a girlfriend. Besides Marti I was his best friend and he used to ask me if I liked anyone he had dated because he wanted me to be friends with whomever he dated. It just…hurt me that he didn't ask me this time, even if it _is_ Casey."

"Well, why don't you just tell Derek that?" She asked as I tossed the ball and she headed it into the air before catching it herself.

"You want me to _talk_ to Derek?" I asked in disbelief. "Derek doesn't even talk in _class_."

"You're right," she said with a laugh. "I don't know _what_ I was thinking. I'm thirsty, let's go get some lemonade or something."

"Sounds like a plan." We entered the house and went straight for the kitchen where I poured us a glass of lemonade and I got the jar of cookies. "Hey Smarti, Ed! Do you want some cookies?" I called to them. They looked at each other before racing into the kitchen and grabbing a handful out of the jar. "It's a good thing I like to cook these or else you'd all be deprived."

"Hey, have you ever thought of selling these?" Edwin asked as he pointed at the cookies. "You could make a fortune. Of course I'd get ten percent of your profits for helping you sell and for giving you the idea."

"Ha, you should consider becoming a business man when you grow up, Ed," I said as I shook my head before taking a sip of my lemonade.

"Don't give him any ideas," Lizzie said as she shook her head. "The last thing he tried to sell was a board game about bodily functions."

"You mean–" I started as I set my cup down.

"Yup, a game of farts, burps, and–' Edwin started proudly but he was interrupted by a loud screech.

"Screams?" I supplied before we all rushed to the stairs. "What? What's wrong?" I asked as we all crowded in the hallway. I took one look at the stunned and angry looks on Nora's and George's faces before looking over at the shocked and guilty looks on Casey's and Derek's faces and I had my answer.

"Do you still want to know why we haven't told Mom and George about us?" Lizzie whispered so only I could hear her.


	23. Forget About Everything and Runaway

**Chapter 23 – Forget About Everything and Runaway**

_**MACK'S POV**_

"Case? Are you ok?" I asked as Lizzie and I entered her bedroom. She was lying face down on her bed, her back shaking as muffled sobs escaped into the air. I closed the door behind us and Lizzie and I sat down on both sides of Casey and looked down at her. "Case, you ok?" I paused and made a face. "Well, that was a stupid question. Of course you're not ok."

"Casey, I thought you didn't like Derek," Lizzie said in a confused tone. Casey shot up and turned to glare at Lizzie.

"I _don't_ like Derek, how could you accuse me of such a thing?" She hissed as she rubbed her puffy red eyes.

"But…you were kissing him. Unless you teenagers just do that for fun, I'd think that meant you like him," Lizzie responded, the confused tone was still in her voice.

"Well I don't! He's an inconsiderate, insensitive jerk that needs to learn to grow up!" Casey responded as she clutched her pillow so hard her fingernails were digging into it.

"But if you hate him then why did you kiss him?" I asked.

"I didn't kiss him, he kissed me!"

"It takes two to tango, Princess," I pointed out. "So he either forced you to kiss him back, which is kind of hard to do, or you _wanted_ to kiss him because you have _feelings_ for him that you're afraid to admit."

"Er…even if I did, _which I don't_," Casey quickly added. "It wouldn't make a difference. Our parents are _really_ mad at us. This like this shouldn't happen, it's not supposed to."

"No one can stop your feelings," Lizzie told her. "And besides, it's not like its wrong. We're not even related by blood, just by name. I bet you're even allowed to get married in some places."

"How do you know so much about this?" Casey asked as she wiped her eyes again.

"Well…" Lizzie hesitated as she looked at me. I nodded and gave her a small smile. Lizzie sighed, took a deep breath, and blurted, "EdwinandIkindahavebeenseeingeachotherforawhile."

"_What!?_" Casey asked as she whirled around to face Lizzie. "You and _Edwing_. Do Mom and George know?"

"No," Lizzie admitted. "And after seeing how they reacted with you two I don't want to tell. I did at first but now I'm afraid Mom'll disown me or something."

"I'm sure she won't do that," I said but they both ignored me.

"What if she disowns both of us? What if they disown all of us except Marti? Oh my gosh! What have we done to our family? We've _ruined_ our lives not to mention Marti's life!" Casey gasped as she widened her eyes. "She's going to grow up with no siblings to look after her, no one to influence her, no one to tell her not to do drugs, or drink, or have sex before marriage."

"Thanks for the help on that part," I said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes. "You're _not_ going to get disowned. Jesus Christ, your family overreacts too much."

"Well, what do you think they're going to do?" Lizzie asked.

"Nora would probably want to just talk to you all and figure out why you feel the way you do. Eventually she might accept it. But George is a different case. I've seen the way he acts around homos; he's homophobic so he might not take you guys together very well."

"We're not together," Casey said as she looked at me.

"You say potato," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. "Either way you're going to have to face the music sooner, if not later."

"What did Nora and George do once they found out you were pregnant with Derek's kid?" Casey asked.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" I asked as I stared at her in suspicion.

"Course not!" She said as her eyes widened. "I'm just curious."

"Since Derek was a stinkin' coward I had to talk to them. They talked to me about my choices: whether to have an abortion or give it up for adoption. I personally wouldn't want to do both but I'd rather have the baby and give it to an adoption agency rather than kill it. They also talked to me about how it would be hard for me to finish school work and I won't be able to get a job because of this…mistake but they were pretty cool with it and they said they would help support us," I responded. "They were really cool about it, which surprised me."

"So…what _are_ you going to do?" Lizzie asked.

"Like I said, I'm going to have the baby and give it up for adoption," I responded. I hesitated before adding, "Noel says the baby should grow up in a more quiet place and he wants me to go live at his place instead of here."

"He asked you to _move in with him?_?" Lizzie asked as her eyes widened.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Casey demanded.

"I'm kinda buys. I have other things on my mind," I responded as I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I don't even know what to do yet. I agree that the baby should grow up in a quiet place but I don't want to leave."

"What do you want to do?" Casey asked.

"I want to stay, but I don't know how to break it to Noel."

"Just straight out tell him. He's a sweet guy, I'm sure he'll understand."

-----------

I lifted my head and looked over in Casey's direction to see that she was still fast asleep. I glanced at the digital clock to see the red numbers say 3:27. I slowly slid out of bed and looked over at Casey checking if she was still asleep. I sighed before going around the room and grabbing my things. I quickly scribbled a note and left it on my pillow before I quietly opened the door and slipped out. I tiptoed down the hall, past Lizzie and Derek's room, and quietly went down the stairs. I looked around to make sure Nora or George weren't awake before rushing towards the front door. I jumped and practically screamed when I stepped on one of Marti's toys and it let out a loud squeak.

"Dang," I muttered before I quickly slipped out the front door. As I closed it behind me car lights blinded me for a split second. I blinked before rushing down the front stairs and rushing over to the car. I opened the door and dropped into the passenger side seat and closed it behind me as I let out a sigh. "Thanks for doing this."

"It's no problem," Matt responded as he backed out of the driveway. "Did you just up and leave or did you leave a note?"

"I'm not _that_ inconsiderate," I said as I rolled my eyes. "I've done this before."

"I've noticed," Matt said dryly as he drove down the street.

'_You're just going to be a coward and run away again?'_

'_**They'd get hurt if I didn't. Besides, it's easier this way.'**_


	24. I Can Do Better…So Why Don’t I?

**Chapter 24 – I Can Do Better…So Why Don't I?**

"Hey, where did Smack go?" Marti asked as she looked around the kitchen when she noticed that only her siblings were sitting there. They all exchanged panicked glances, trying to figure out what to say to the little girl.

"She, uh, went on a little vacation," Casey responded as Marti sat down at the kitchen table and reached for her glass of juice. Marti took a sip and let out a burp. Edwin smiled as Derek laughed and the two exchanged high fives. Casey rolled her as although Lizzie was smiling a little bit.

"Qhere did she go?" Marti asked innocently after she stopped giggling. Casey glanced at Lizzie who shrugged and gave her a 'make-something-up' look.

"She went to Florida," Casey said quickly. "She and her brother, Matt, went to Disney World. We don't know when they'll be back though." She put her fingers behind her back and crossed them, praying that Marti would buy the lie.

"They went to Disney World without me!?" Marti cried out in shock. Edwin laughed at how Marti seemed genuinely offended that they went without her.

"Yeah, they didn't bring you because Snow White would mistake you for one of her Seven Dwarfs," Derek responded with a small laugh before taking a sip from his glass.

"Der-ek!" Marti cried out as she turned to glare at him.

"You've turned her against me," Derek said in a dangerous annoyed tone as he slowly set down his glass and glared at Casey. "You _corrupted_ my little sister."

"I'm surprised you used that word right in a sentence," Casey said calmly as she checked over her homework. But inside her heart was beating at a fast pace and she was willing herself to not blush and to not look at him. She didn't trust her own feelings anymore.

"What does corrupted mean?" Marti asked as she reached for a muffin.

"It basically means changed," Lizzie explained.

"I don't get it," Marti said as she scrunched up her face.

"Ok, when you have a family like ours being together for a while, we'd eventually pick up on each other's habits," Lizzie explained. "For example, Derek's an inconsiderate jerk–"

"Hey!" Derek protested.

"You don't even know what that means so don't act like you're offended," Casey said as she rolled her eyes.

"Like I said, Derek's an inconsiderate jerk, making fun of people, tricking people, things like that. Since you've been around Casey for a while and you've picked up on how she yells at Derek. Do you understand?"

"Kinda," Marti responded as she wrinkled her nose. She took a bite from the muffin, jumped down from the table, and rushed out of the kitchen as Nora and George came in.

"Uh-oh," they muttered in unison.

"Hey guys, where's Mackenzie?" George asked as he looked around the kitchen.

"She…uh…" Casey said as her eyes shifted.

"She decided to walk to school," Derek spoke up. "She said something about the exercise being good for her or something."

'_Why did I have to fall for someone like Derek?'_ Casey asked thought as she left the table and went to her room to get her things for school. _'Why Derek!? I hate him! He always makes fun of me and he always plays tricks on me. And he's my step-brother, it's wrong to like him. I have to admit, he's smart when it comes to thinking of plans to get things to go his way…and the smirk on his face when he manages to trick me is kind of cute…And he is a good kisser like the other girls say…stop! Stop thinking about Derek! You can find someone better than him.'_

"Case, are you all right? You seemed distracted at breakfast," Lizzie said as she came into the room.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about some things," Casey responded as she put my books into her backpack.

"Derek things?" Lizzie asked.

"That obvious, huh?"

"Well, you _were_ kind of staring at him. SO what's going on?"

"It's just…it's _Derek_," Casey said once she made sure her door war closed. "I'm not supposed to fall for _him_."

"Is that the problem are is there something else?"

"It's just…I know I can do better…but I want to know _why_ I can't."

**A/N: I know this chapter sucked, I wanted to put one up and this came into my head. It's more of a filler anyway. Please leave a review.**


	25. Things Take a Turn for the Worse

**Chapter 25 – Things Take a Turn for the Worse**

_**CASEY'S POV**_

No matter how hard I tired I couldn't concentrate on anything except for what happened between Derek and me. Just thinking about what happened made my skin crawl yet made my heart leap at the same time. I still couldn't understand why I did something like that…with _Derek_ of all people. Something must be wrong with me.

"Casey," Emily said impatiently as she waved her hand in front of my face.

"I'm sorry Em," I said as I blinked and shifted my attention from Derek, who was throwing food at his friends, to Emily who was staring at me with a smirk. "What did you say?" She didn't answer but continued to smirk at me. "What? Why're you looking at me like that?"

"It's a boy, isn't it?" Emily asked, the smirk never leaving her face. My heart started to race but I forced myself to keep my composure. I mean, she hadn't even mentioned anything about Derek, I was just jumping ahead of myself.

"Ummm…boy?" I asked as I squinted slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"You weren't paying attention to me and you were staring at something over my shoulder," she responded. "And I'm pretty sure you weren't staring at the food that we have to eat here." Her smirk got bigger as she asked, "So, who were you staring at? I mean, after Max, I didn't think you'd be interested in another guy."

"I'm not interested in another guy," I muttered as I took a bite of my fruit salad. _'You're not interested in another guy only because you've fallen for your step-brother.'_

"Yeah right," Emily said as she rolled her eyes. "Is it…Dan Hewitt?" She asked as she pointed. Dan was on the school's hockey team and he was pretty nice, but if you got him mad he'd shoot off swear words like a rocket being launched into space. She must've seen the horrified look on my face so she quickly said, "Ok, it's not Dan. Is it…Peter Johanssen?"

"Em, I told you, I'm not interested in any guy." _'Right, because to you Derek doesn't classify as a guy.'_

"Hey Casey, Emily," Noel said as he appeared at our table and smiled a little bit. "How are you two today?"

"Hey Noel," I said cheerfully as I pushed my backpack to the ground and patted the seat next to me. He took the bait and dropped his backpack to the ground before sitting down next to me. "We're great. Just talking about some poetry submissions we got for the next Literary Magazine."

"People besides you actually submit poems to that Literary Magazine?" Noel asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's surprising."

"Hey, I'm not the only one in this school who likes poetry," I said as I gave his arm a light smack.

"Name one other person," he said in a challenging tone. I opened my mouth to respond but he quickly added, "The English teacher doesn't count!" I couldn't help but laugh. Noel always seemed to be able to get my mind off of things that bothered me, especially when I had a sun sized problem on my hands.

"You got me."

"Anyway, is Mack here? I didn't see her at all this morning," he asked.

"Oh, um, she's…sick!" I blurted out and mentally kicked myself. I could've come up with something better than that. "We don't think she's going to be able to come to school for a couple of days."

"Oh, ok, maybe I can visit her after school."

"Um, no," I said quickly. "She's highly contagious. We wouldn't want you to get sick too."

"Ohkaaaaay," Noel said slowly as he stared at me in suspicion. He grabbed his backpack and walked off, throwing a wave over his shoulder without turning around. I sighed before holding my face in my hands.

"It's Noel, isn't it?" Emily spoke up.

"What!? No!" I cried out as I shot my head up to look at her.

"Then who is it?' She pressed.

"You…wouldn't understand," I muttered as I grabbed my backpack and jumped up from the table. I rushed out of the cafeteria, down the hall, and straight into the bathroom. I checked to make sure no one else was in there before I let out a loud scream. I then went over to the sink and splashed some water on my face before looking into the mirror. "Face it, Casey; you've liked Derek ever since you moved into the Venturi house. You like every minute of him constantly teasing you and playing tricks on you. You love his attention and _that's_ why you've fallen for Derek Venturi," I said to my reflection.

God, even when I said it out loud it still sounded weird to me. If I couldn't accept it I didn't know how Derek could, or how Mom or George could for that matter. I tried to keep from crying as I thought about what Mom and George would do. Mom would probably move us out of the house and start dating truckers and be sad and lonely for the rest of her life and it would be my entire fault. _'Get a grip, Casey, you're overreacting like always. Maybe they forgot. Maybe Derek forgot. Maybe this whole thing is just a bad dream that keeps seeping into your reality. Yeah, that has to be it.'_

I grabbed my backpack and walked out of the bathroom before making my way to my locker. I had three minutes until I was late for being early to my next class so I rushed to my locker. I was in such a hurry that, when I pulled my locker door open, it smacked me in the forehead with a loud metal clang.

"Ouch," I said as I winced when I went to touch my forehead.

"I see you're still excellent at inflicting pain upon yourself, Klutzilla," Derek said as he stood behind me. I could feel my face burning as my heart sped up and I cursed myself for acting that way whenever he was around now. How was I going to survive until going off to Harvard while Derek accepts his French-frying job?

"What do you want?" I asked without looking at him. _'Easy Casey, your voice shook a little. Don't let him know that you're nervous. It's just Derek. Keep thinking that.'_

"We need to talk," he responded. I could tell that he was standing with his arms crossed.

"About what?" I asked, feigning innocence. _'You know about what, you also know that you can't deny it anymore.'_

"About what happened," he said as he leaned forward so he was talking in my ear. I resisted the urge to shudder when his breath tickled my ear. I swallowed hard and grabbed my books before closing my locker and walking away, making sure not to make any contact with him.

"Nothing happened," I muttered as I sped up. I could hear him walking behind me.

"Casey, we have to talk about what happened, even if you and I don't want to. And trust me, I don't want to," he said as he fell into step with me. He threw out his arm so I stopped walking and he turned so he was standing in front of me. "Skip with me."

"What? Derek, I can't, it'll ruin my–"

"Perfect attendance?" He asked with a sneer. "C'mon, you jumped at the chance to sneak out and go to that party. Of course you ratted me out, but you haven't done anything like that before. Don't you want to relieve the rush?"

"Personally, no," I responded as I went past him, although a part of me did want to go with him instead of face Noel's interrogation again. "Why do you want to leave anyway?"

"Do I ever need a reason?" Derek asked. "And I'm sure you don't want to have to face Noel and lie to him again."

I finally looked up at him and glared at him as he looked down at me with a smirk on his face. I sighed and he smirked in triumph before grabbing my wrist and yanking me out of the school. We rushed to our car and got inside before he sped out of the parking lot. I pushed away the feeling of guilt that was inside me as Derek sped down the street. Man, just being in a car with him made me have a reaction. I couldn't stop fidgeting with things that were around me. He finally pulled over at a pizza parlor, which really didn't surprise me since it was his favorite food.

"Why am I here?" I asked myself as I followed him inside.

"Well, Princes, if you really don't want to be here then you can follow me." Derek and I whirled around to see a man pointing at us with a gun. Memories from the shooting slammed back into my head when I instantly recognized who it was.

"Lucas," I muttered as he smirked evilly. Derek tensed beside me.


	26. Epilogue

**Chapter 26 – Epilogue**

_**-CASEY'S POV-**_

School was really hard for me to get through again. Every time I saw Derek I got this weird reaction so I turned and went another way to get to my class. Everyone in our class knew something was wrong because Derek and I hardly fought anymore, but that was only because we've been avoiding each other.

Mom and George made sure that they kept us bus with chores that we weren't together. I knew that I couldn't talk to Derek, but I had to. Just to see where our feeling for each other lay. I didn't want to ever admit that I liked Derek but Emily was starting to get suspicious, especially when I broke up with Max for a really bad reason.

Noel has been following me around all day trying to get me to tell him where Mack was. It hurt me so bad to have to keep lying to him, especially every time I saw the hurt look in his brown eyes. But I couldn't tell her that she left because of Derek and I. Noel was one of my good friends and I didn't want to loose him.

I practically jumped out of my seat when the bell rang for the last period of the day. I shoved everything into my purse and rushed out the classroom door. I got to my locker and grabbed the things I needed. I closed it and was about to walk down the hall and escape when I noticed Derek standing there. I let out a scream and jumped back as he let a small smirk come to his lips.

"Don't _do_ that!" I hissed as I slapped him on the shoulder before walking quickly down the hallway.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" He asked lamely as he rubbed his arm as he followed me down the hallway. I just kept quiet as I continued walking down the hall. "Casey–" _'Whoa, that's the first time he ever addressed me by my name in a while.'_ "As much as I hate to say this, we need to talk."

"About what?" _'As long as I keep playing dumb than it didn't happen.'_

"You _know_ what," Derek said as he stood in front of me to stop me from walking. He let out a sigh and said, "If you haven't noticed things are fragile at our house right now. I can't go back anymore. I hate going back to silence. I hate going back to a house that's peaceful, only because our family doesn't talk to each other anymore. Which makes me think…what if we could get away from all of this?"

"Like…a vacation?" I asked as I looked up at him and automatically got lost in his chocolate brown eyes.

"You could say that," he said with a sigh. "And we need it."

"What about school? We'll fall behind in our classes."

"Casey, we have bigger problems on our hands whether you want to admit it or not. Are you going to come with me or no?" He knew my answer even before I nodded. As the other students filed into the halls Derek and I gathered up the rest of our books and ran out the front door. "I got enough clothes for us to last about two weeks, three if you pair shirts with skirts and stuff," he said as he made our way down the front steps. "I left a note for Lizzie and Edwin so they know what we're doing."

"Derek, why is it _now_ that you're responsible about _anything_?" I asked as we climbed into the car we were forced to share.

"The fact that I got one of my friends pregnant kind of has something to do with it," he responded as he buckled his seatbelt and turned around as he backed the car out of the parking lot. "Even though it's not at the top of my list to be a father I have to make sure she's ok. So we're going to find her."

"Derek, she could be anywhere," I pointed out. "What do you think she's doing?"

"I _think_ she's looking for her little sister," Derek responded. "So we're going to Florida."

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

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**I know it's been soooooo long since I updated this. I was going to make this one long story but I decided to split this up. So, if anyone still reads this, please leave a review. It will make me post the sequel to this faster.**

**Crystal**


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